Latest news with #pro-AfD
New European
03-03-2025
- Automotive
- New European
Trump's German cheerleader finally sees the light
He has spoken supportively of Trump, arranged for Elon Musk to write a pro-AfD editorial for an Axel Springer paper, and has otherwise tried to ingratiate himself with Trump and his circle, even before doing so was fashionable. The Trump headaches are just not going away for Matthias Döpfner, CEO and majority owner of German publishing giant Axel Springer. Döpfner, who owns brands including Politico and Business Insider alongside German newspaper icons Bild and Die Welt – has always been more receptive to MAGAworld than most Europeans. But even Döpfner, it seems, has a line. The executive has written an editorial under his own byline in Die Welt, saying outright that Volodymyr Zelensky should not have been 'thrown out of the White House like a schoolboy who hasn't done his homework', adding that this was no way for a country that has been invaded to be treated by an ally – unless that ally 'has changed sides'. Döpfner might have arrived late to Trump alarmism – if only there had been someone to warn him – but his editorial is at least stark. Trump's America is sacrificing Ukraine… for a transactional 'America First' and 'America Only' strategy,' he concludes. 'If Europe abandons Ukraine, Europe will fall.' As they used to say during Trump's first term: Matthias Döpfner… welcome to the resistance?
Sky News
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
German election: From AI influencers to Russian disinformation, the far-right is getting a leg-up online
Voters in Germany are being exposed to copious pro-AfD narratives online from AI-generated content and Russian disinformation campaigns. Experts monitoring social media say Russian-based groups are involved, including "Doppelganger" and "Storm-1516", which US officials found to be active in America's election last year. Some of these campaigns are using artificial intelligence to spread their messaging ahead of Sunday's vote, which will see Germany elect a new Bundestag. Methods are said to include creating fake TV news stories or deep-fake videos of apparent "witnesses" or "whistle blowers" fabricating stories about prominent politicians. For example, in November 2024, shortly before the snap election was called, a video was published that claimed one parliamentary member who is an outspoken supporter of Ukraine was a Russian spy. Dr Marcus Faber, a member of the Free Democratic Party and head of the government's defence committee, was targeted in a video which used AI to suggest a former adviser was making the claim. We asked Dr Faber for his reaction to the video but he was unable to comment at this time. In another video an 18-year-old woman accused a German minister of child abuse - the accusation was false, and the video was made using AI. A recent report from the Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy, or CeMAS, a non-profit thinktank specialising in the analysis of disinformation and right-wing extremism, and Alliance 4 Europe which aims to combat digital disinformation, has linked both stories to the Russian disinformation campaign Storm-1516. The researchers have also been tracking the Doppelganger campaign, run by a Russian PR company Social Design Agency, widely reported to have links to the Kremlin. They have found the group's main tactic is to create fake news articles, which often resemble well-known publications. A network of social media accounts then share and spread those articles across different platforms. Posts will often appear to be from a worried citizen, like the one below that reads: "I am concerned that aid to Ukraine will impact our ability to invest in our own infrastructure and social security systems." The post links to a fake news article criticising Germany's funding for the war in Ukraine, on a fake website resembling the German newspaper Der Spiegel. "Different Russian campaigns are trying, on the one hand, to discredit established parties," says Julia Smirnova, a senior researcher for CeMAS. "They're also trying to boost the far-right AfD." "It's not about just one fake video or one fake article. There's a systematic effort to constantly create this flood of false stories, flood of propaganda stories, and continue spreading them," she says. From mid-December 2024 to mid-January 2025, CeMAS found a total of 630 German-language posts with typical Doppelgänger patterns on X alone. For Ferdinand Gehringer, a cybersecurity policy adviser, Russian interference online isn't a surprise. "There are clear objectives for Russia to interfere and to also manipulate our public opinion," he says. From the party's plan to stop sending arms to Ukraine to their calls to ramp up imports of Russian gas, he says "Russia sees within the AfD's program and ideas the best options for future cooperation". CeMAS has found at least one case where a fake story that originated from a Russian campaign was spread by an AfD politician. Stephan Protschka, a parliamentary member, posted on his social media channels that the Green Party was working with Ukraine to recruit people to commit crimes and blame them on the AfD, a narrative researchers say originated from a Russian disinformation campaign. Sky News asked Mr Protschka for comment, but he did not respond. We also reached out to Social Design Agency to respond to the allegations against the Doppelganger group. They did not respond. We were unable to contact anyone behind the Storm-1516 campaign for comment. Inside Germany Beyond the extremes of Russian-led disinformation campaigns, far-right groups within Germany are also ramping up their online presence. Take Larissa Wagner, an AI-generated social media influencer. "Hey guys, I'm just on my way to the polling station. I'm daring this time. I'm voting for AfD," she said in a video posted to her X account on 22 September 2024, the day of the Brandenburg state election. Her accounts on Twitter and Instagram were both created in the last year and her regular videos espouse far-right narratives, like telling Syrian immigrants to "pack your bags and go back home". She even says she interned with the right-wing magazine Compact, which was banned by the German government last year. It's unclear who created Larissa. When Sky News messaged to ask her on Instagram she replied: "I think it's completely irrelevant who controls me. Influencers like me are the future... "Like anyone else, I want to share my perspective on things. Every influencer does that. But because I'm young, attractive, and right-wing, it's framed as 'influencing the political discourse'." Ferdinand Gehringer notes that her posts have become more radical over time. "The potential for influence is significant-especially since the presence of a young, attractive woman increases audience engagement," he adds. The far-right's use of generative AI on social media goes beyond characters like Larissa. A report this week from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue assessed the scale of its use, identifying 883 posts since April 2023 that included images, memes and music videos made using generative AI. The posts came from far-right supporters as well as the AfD itself - party accounts published more than 50 posts that contained generative AI content in October alone. The AfD is using AI more than other parties, says Pablo Maristany de las Casas, an analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue who co-authored the report. "They're clearly the one actor that is exploiting this technology the most," he says. The messaging in the far-right content they sampled falls into two categories: attacking narratives, like AI-generated images of migrants portrayed as violent criminals, and narratives that glorify traditional German values. When these two narratives are combined, "the far-right community feels more united in the so-called cultural fight against these groups that they're attacking," says Mr Maristany de las Casas. Take Remigration Song, a promotional song and music video commissioned by the now-disbanded youth wing of the AfD. It was produced using AI and advocates the mass deportation of immigrants - known as remigration. It's this home-grown content that some experts say could affect public opinions. A recent survey by the Bertelsmann Foundation, a thinktank which promotes social reform, showed that 80% of Germans consider disinformation on the internet to be a major problem for society and 88% agreed that disinformation is spread to influence political opinions. "Just the foreign information itself is probably not going to shift attitudes" says senior researcher Cathleen Berger. "I think the impact only comes when it is being picked up by domestic actors". Additional reporting from Olive Enokido-Lineham, OSINT producer; Mary Poynter, Data and Forensics producer. The Data and Forensics
Local Germany
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Local Germany
How fake social media accounts are spreading disinformation ahead of German election
Disinformation and targeted propaganda campaigns are increasingly prevalent, and in the run up to the Bundestag election on February 23rd, Germany has become a target. A new report suggests that over 1,000 fake social media accounts have been boosting engagement on posts by members of the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and also adding to criticism of their opponents. This comes as another investigation, by the German nonprofit Correctiv and the US watchdog NewsGuard, revealed that a former Florida deputy sheriff who fled to Russia to avoid extortion charges is behind hundreds of fake news sites spreading disinformation. Fake news disseminated on those sites promoted German political parties that the Kremlin sees as friendly, such as the AfD and the far-left Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW), while attacking leaders of the parties that are critical of the Kremlin, or voice support for NATO, Ukraine or the EU, like the Greens, the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Christian Democrats (CDU). Between disinformation posted on fake news sites, and comments by bots on social media, multiple campaigns promoting the AfD and attacking their critics have been identified. Over one thousand fake accounts targeting Germany's 2025 election Cyabra, which works with businesses to identify disinformation campaigns online, shared a new report with The Local that identified more than 1,000 fake accounts operated by bots designed to engage in Germany's election discourse and boost AfD narratives. The research analysed online profiles from three German parties – AfD, SPD and the Greens – and found that a surge of fake profiles were strategically promoting pro-AfD narratives and undermining their opponents. An analysis of comments on posts by AfD co-leader and the party's top candidate Alice Weidel found that 23 percent of them were made by fake accounts, artificially boosting her digital presence and creating an illusion of broader support. On one key post, which gained 126 million views, Cyabra noted 33 percent of interactions were from fake profiles. Meanwhile, 15 percent of posts discussing The Greens came from fake profiles and 14 percent of those commenting on the SPD. In one post from Chancellor Olaf Scholz, 22 percent of comments came from fake accounts. Many of the fake account interactions reinforced criticism by real users, artificially enlarging SPD opposition online. Comments from fake accounts were focused on targeted narratives, such as attacking support for the 'firewall' (the word that mainstream parties use to show they are unwilling to work with the AfD) and suggesting that the Greens' and SPD's stance against the far right would 'destroy Germany'. Protesters hold a banner which reads "We are the firewall. No cooperation with the AfD (far-right Alternative for Germany party)" at a large demo against the far right. Fake accounts online have specifically targeted mentions of the firewall, or Brandmauer, to artificially boost digital support for the AfD. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP) Of the 1,000+ fake accounts that Cyabra identified, nearly half were created more than a year ago, suggesting the long-term scope of the disinformation campaign. But more and more bots are continuously brought online, with the other half having been created within the past year and about 13 percent launched in the past 30 days. How were fake accounts identified? Asked about their research methods, Cyabra CEO Dan Brahmy told The Local that the company uses AI technology 'to analyse online conversations, detect fake accounts, and measure the authenticity of engagements". 'Our detection methods … leverage behavioural analysis, network mapping, and content verification to minimise false positives,' he added. Cyabra's report suggests that the German election is being actively manipulated. 'The scale and coordination of this disinformation reveals a dangerous effort to reshape public perception, influence undecided voters, and push a specific political agenda,' the report's authors wrote. Not new tactics Coordinated disinformation campaigns, including those targeting election campaigns, are not new to Germany. How vulnerable are German elections? So far German voters overall appear to be a bit harder to sway than those in other major democracies. Regarding the aforementioned fake news sites allegedly created by the former US sheriff, for instance, AFP reported that they have struggled to achieve the same traction in Germany compared to similar campaigns in the US, which got tens of millions of views. This is perhaps partially explained by the fact that the creator behind that campaign is not German, and is not intimately familiar with German political dialogue. It may also help that at least 63 percent of German voters still rely primarily on traditional media (TV, radio, newspapers etc) as their primary source of election information, according to a recent YouGov survey. But the increasing intensity of online disinformation campaigns is worrying. With disinformation being actively disseminated at this scale, experts warn that we could be seeing the beginning of an era in which social media has more sway over elections than the political campaigns themselves. Experts suggest that democracies need to make efforts to safeguard against disinformation. Researchers at Stanford University have identified effective tactics
Euronews
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Germany's The Left party sees surge in support after going viral online
Germany's Die Linke or The Left party is experiencing a last-minute surge in numbers less than one week before Germany's national election on 23 February. The left-wing populist party, which polled at around 4% in January, has seen its numbers rise to 6% to 7% in recent weeks. One survey from pollster YouGov puts the party at 9% — a significant jump from a month ago and well above the 5% threshold it would need to enter the Bundestag. Ahead of a surge in numbers, one of the party's rising stars, Heidi Reichinnek, went viral on social media for passionately criticising Friedrich Merz, the leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union, for his controversial decision to accept votes from the far right for his migration proposals. 'You've made yourself an accomplice, and today you've changed this country for the worse,' Reichinnek said of Merz in her spontaneous speech, which the party says has been seen over 30 million times. "Resist fascism in this country. To the barricades," she said. According to Maik Fielitz from the Institute for Democracy and Civil Society, Reichinnek's speech went viral, similar to the content that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has successfully promoted on social media for years. "Candidates like Heidi Reichinnek act as political influencers. The aim is to make them known first through their personality and only later through their political positioning," Fielitz said. The party is aware of its recent social media success, with The Left politician Dietmar Bartsch telling Euronews the party aims to counter the flood of pro-AfD online messaging with "well-made, credible left-wing content". The Left want to "clarify misinformation and set our own topics" online, he added. Doubters to believers? According to domestic media reports, The Left's membership has surged to its highest point in 15 years, causing the party to hunt for larger campaign venues in the past two weeks. An under-18 survey also found that the party came first among children and young adults, with 20.84% of support. Prior to the last-minute surge in popularity, The Left was unsure if they would reach the threshold to enter the Bundestag. The party's fate seemed uncertain when one of its most prominent faces, Sahra Wagenknecht, splintered from it and created her own just over a year ago. The leftist-nationalist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) had a strong showing in the June European elections and the September three-state elections. Yet, the BSW's national campaign has failed to have the same impact. Meanwhile, the doubts among The Left party candidates about their chances were so strong that three of its members campaigned for direct mandates to enter the parliament. However, the viral star Reichinnek said the recent boost in popularity gave her renewed confidence. "I don't have to believe in miracles, I experience them," she told daily newspaper Rheinische Post. The Left has put forward two candidates for chancellor, Reichinnek and Jan van Akken. It has made taxing the wealthy and ensuring affordable housing fundamental to its campaign. The party is focusing on "people's everyday problems", she said. "For example, we on the left have programmed a rent gouging calculator and a heating cost calculator," Reichinnek explained.
Euronews
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Fake TikTok videos show hundreds of thousands marching for AfD in Germany
As German federal elections draw closer, TikTok videos allegedly showing hundreds of thousands of people marching for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) have gone viral. German media outlet Correctiv revealed the videos had been manipulated — as a Euroverify investigation can confirm. The videos — posted by a range of AfD supporters' accounts — consist of footage of crowds accompanied by captions claiming that they represent hundreds of thousands of people gathering for the far-right party. A simple TikTok search with keywords like 'pro-AfD' and 'protest' returns a string of videos of the sort. Euroverify ran the videos through a series of AI image detectors. Although many of the videos are not AI-generated, the footage is not from pro-AfD demonstrations but has been taken from other events, including protests against the German party. In some TikTok videos, AI audio detectors reveal that the soundtracks have been manipulated. In multiple videos — like this one — an AI-generated audio track of a crowd chanting "east, east, east" has replaced the original audio. Although this is not a chant typically used by AfD supporters, the eastern German states of Thuringia and Saxony are party strongholds. Footage in one video appears to date back to a January 2024 protest in Hamburg, when tens of thousands of people marched against the far right and not in favour of the AfD. The protests were triggered by public outrage over the revelation of a secret meeting between far-right groups in north-eastern Germany. AfD party members were among those who participated in talks which centred on how millions of immigrants — including those with German citizenship — could be systematically relocated to another country should these groups come to power. Wider mass protests across Germany In recent weeks, there have been no outdoor AfD gatherings attended by hundreds of thousands of people — which once again underlines the fact that these TikTok videos are fake. Tens of thousands of people in Germany did take to the streets last weekend — but to protest the leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Friedrich Merz and his parliamentary proposal on stricter migration rules. The proposal was supported by the AfD, which proved to be a red line for many Germans. As for AfD gatherings, in December, 3,500 supporters — not hundreds of thousands — gathered for a memorial rally following the Magdeburg Christmas market attack. The car-ramming attack, carried out by a Saudi-born doctor who had voiced support for far-right narratives online, killed six and injured more than 200 others. Last month, South Africa-born billionaire Elon Musk made a surprise appearance at an AfD campaign event in the eastern German city of Halle, which 4,500 people attended.
