Germany warns of possible Russian influence campaigns targeting local elections

The German Interior Ministry has warned that local elections in the east of the country could become a potential target for Russian disinformation campaigns. A representative of the German Interior Ministry made this statement in an interview with Handelsblatt.

Germany’s Ministry of the Interior has expressed concern about potential interference by Russia in the local elections set to take place in the eastern regions this year. 

According to ministry officials, there is a real threat that Russian intelligence services and propaganda structures could influence the election results by employing a wide range of hybrid warfare tools, including cyberattacks, the spread of disinformation and propaganda materials, and manipulation of social media platforms.

“We must proceed from the fact that all elections in our country are a potential target for illegal influence,” the German Interior Ministry representative said.

In this way, Russia is trying to “illegally influence public debate and political decision-making in Germany,” he added.

The ministry reminded that since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there has been an increase in disinformation by Russian official bodies, state and government-affiliated media, and social media accounts.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior of Germany stated that Russia is attempting to “illegally influence public debates and the political decision-making process in Germany.”

“Since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, there has been an increase in disinformation from both Russian officials and state-owned and pro-Kremlin media on various information platforms and social media. They use false information to inflame emotional debates and deliberately set social groups against each other,” the spokesperson noted.

Previous elections in various countries, including the U.S. presidential election and the European Parliament election, witnessed similar actions by Russia. Such attacks have also repeatedly targeted Germany.

In late July, U.S. intelligence warned of an avalanche of Russian disinformation before the election.

And several months ago, European intelligence agencies warned their governments that Russia was planning sabotage across the continent, the FT reported.