Germany in crosshairs of Russia’s information war before elections

As Germany heads for general elections, its security services warn that Russia and its backers may step up meddling and disinformation to boost radical parties and sow discord about the democratic process.

Following charges that Russia interfered in the elections to the European Parliament in 2024, Berlin fears that the February 23 elections will also be a target for pro-Russian propaganda and disinformation campaigns, media reported.

German media investigations have pointed to Kremlin-linked campaigns to support the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and boost the Russia-friendly views of the far-left Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW).

As the campaign gathers pace, Germany’s interior ministry has set up a task force to take “the necessary protection measures” against any disinformation, sabotage, espionage, and cyberattacks.

“Targeted lies and defamation are part of the toolkit of Putin’s propaganda apparatus,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) newspaper.

Recently, the United States imposed sanctions on two groups linked to Iranian and Russian efforts to mislead Americans ahead of the 2024 presidential election on January 2, NBC reported.

Russia is represented on this list, in particular, by the Center for Geopolitical Studies, which oversaw the creation, financing, and spread of disinformation about US presidential candidates, including deepfake videos.

The US claims that this center used artificial intelligence to quickly create fake videos about candidates, dozens of fake news websites that look legitimate, and even paid US web companies to create pro-Russian content.

European countries will hold several more elections next year. The nearest ones are in Germany, where Russia is known to have its own “alternative” interests.

A joint investigation by several German media outlets revealed that a Russian propaganda agency was working to spread memes and narratives online to boost the AfD and undermine support for Ukraine.

The Social Design Agency (SDA) had been spreading disinformation in order to increase voters’ “fear of the future” and raise voter support for the AfD to 20 percent, the media consortium reported in September.

The SZ daily, public broadcasters NDR and WDR, and other media reported that the Kremlin was “controlling the campaign directly.”