The German government can provide information to journalists on its own initiative, but it is not authorized to regulate or control reporting. This may be exactly what was being attempted during the pandemic.
At the time of the grand coalition, the German government informed selected journalists in closed circles about their intentions. Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Christian Democrats, for example, invited ten to twelve journalists to the so-called “lentil soup format” to explain the rationale for policy decisions during the 2015 refugee crisis. This is what group participants report .