The driving force behind this effort to influence German voters ahead of the February 23 ballot is reportedly Doppelgänger, a Kremlin-backed operation using AI-generated content to spread fake news.
US and German fact-checkers say they have identified a cluster of Russia-linked websites pumping out fake news in an apparent bid to influence the German election. Image: Danuta Isler/Polish Radio
This is not the first time that such sites, all similar-looking, published articles containing false information about German politicians who hold pro-NATO and pro-Ukraine views, says Andrzej Kozłowski, head of Narrative Trend Analysis at the Cyberspace Information Protection Division of Poland's NASK National Research Institute in Warsaw.
What is relatively new, however, is that eastern Germany has been specifically targeted with such narratives this time, he told Danuta Isler.
Russia has intensified disinformation efforts to sway voters ahead of Germany's February 23 federal election, according to Polish analysts. Image: Danuta Isler/Polish Radio
"We need to remember that the parliamentary elections in Germany are probably the most important elections this year, which is why we are seeing very strong anti-NATO and anti-European Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) rhetoric there," Kozłowski said.
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