CDU election poster covered in graffiti. Photo: Sean Gallup / Getty Images
Despite active efforts to influence the outcome of the recent parliamentary elections in Germany, Russia’s disinformation campaign “gained minimal traction among authentic online audiences and struggled to break through into the wider conversation,” according to a Feb. 25 report by Forbes.
The publication cited analysts from the disinformation monitoring firm Graphika, who tracked the activity of Russian-linked groups on platforms such as Telegram, Bluesky, and X (formerly Twitter), which shared videos with AI-generated voiceovers and imitated legitimate media outlets by publishing false or provocative news on spoof websites. According to Graphika, the campaign was “likely crafted in an attempt to stoke division and exacerbate existing societal tensions.”
Israeli anti-disinformation company Cyabra identified more than 1,000 fake accounts on X created over the past year with the aim to influence the elections. Many of these accounts were used in order to amplify support for the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD). Dan Brahmy, CEO of Cyabra, told the publication:
“The full extent of digital influence on the results is still unclear. What is clear, however, is the surge in online conversations about AfD — Cyabra’s analysis shows a major spike in engagement across social media, with fake profiles playing a key role in amplifying the discourse. This isn’t just a one-off event or unique to Germany’s election.”
Research by the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab and AlgorithmWatch found that the popularity of the AfD on X was largely fueled by party leader Alice Weidel’s connections with the platform’s owner, Elon Musk, who previously expressed support for the far-right party, tweeting, “Only the AfD can save Germany.”
The conservative bloc of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) secured first place in the snap Bundestag elections on Feb. 23, receiving 28.5% of the vote across Germany’s 299 electoral districts. AfD came in second with 20.8%, while the Social Democratic Party (SPD), led by incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz, finished third with 16.4%.