Days before Germany’s federal election, a report suggests that Russian bots have led to a dramatic wave of misinformation on social media platforms, namely X, formerly known as Twitter. Thanking a report through the German Foreign Office, received via Politico, in the middle of efforts to influence the electorate is Doppelgänger, a Kremlin-backed operation.
According to the report, the Russian crusade uses fake news sites, sleeping accounts and content generated through AI to disseminate false stories and erode confidence in Western institutions. In the past, intelligence agencies throughout the EU and the United States have already followed the highly coordinated tactics of Doppelgänger. Usually, the Crusade sought to undermine Ukraine in the existing war in Russia. But now the emphasis has been positioned in the German elections that deserve to position themselves on February 23.
The report says that German officials have known more than one hundred Pseudo-News Internet sites that have been accumulating in silence provocative and misleading for months. “These platforms are structured in the same way, full of generic articles and generated by AI” , an official officer “, an officer”, an official. , who was worried in the production of the report, he told Political on anonymity.
“At a chosen moment, a fabricated story is inserted and then rapidly spread via social media and influencers. We must assume these sites were prepared to be activated in the run-up to the Bundestag election,” the official added.
German officials have said such sleeper Web sites mimic valid media and remain dormant until a politically sensitive moment. When those typhoon social media moments, they start posting fake stories that they end up spreading through their coordinated social media.
In recent years, European authorities have often blamed Moscow for election interference in several elections. In the past, Czech and Belgian authorities busted a major influence network they said was spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda in the runup to last year’s European Parliament polls. Russia was also accused of influencing Romanian presidential elections in December last year, which was cancelled after Romanian security services warned that Russia was mounting “aggressive” hybrid attacks.
The German election is also not free from the influence, since the people are concerned about the rise of the Russia-friendly, Elon Musk-backed far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD). The far-right party, known for its radical ideologies is currently running second in the opinion polls.
Previously, Internet sites related to Doppelgänger cloning exits such as Der Spiegel, changing domain names to idiots who do not follow. January.
The authorities said that coordinated misinformation positions began to seem in social media sites with a much higher frequency. The report establishes: “This overload strategy, flooding social networks with immediate positions of positions to manufacture the ghost of viral traction, is a characteristic of Russian misinformation campaigns. “
The authorities also stated that the contents of the post followed a clear pattern. These posts often targeted Germany’s support for Ukraine, claiming that Berlin is prioritizing Kyiv over its own citizens. One such example documented in the report was a post which described a fabricated corruption scandal involving Economy Minister Robert Habeck and an unnamed “Ukrainian Culture Minister.”
As per the report, the false story was planted on a sleeper website in January and was later amplified within hours by numerous X accounts. It was also found that the wave of election interference appeared to be heavily automated with several fake accounts posting at the same intervals.
In the Gentile of the report, German officials said they are intensifying against division efforts, sharing intelligence with foreign partners and contemplating the sanctions and public attribution of the networks of the campaign.
With the tickets of the agencies.