In Germany, Russia launched the "Matryoshka" campaign ahead of elections
Germany is seeing an increase in disinformation campaigns, allegedly supported by Russia and intensifying ahead of elections in several federal states. This was reported to Reuters by security sources.
According to them, these information operations are often directed against the political competitors of the far-right party "Alternative for Germany" (AfD). The alleged goal of such campaigns is to increase societal division, exacerbate the political situation, and discredit the current government and other political forces.
Four sources in German security agencies stated that authorities are confident that the campaigns are coordinated from Russia through a network of organizations.
As part of these operations, video clips, mainly in English, with logos of well-known media outlets, including the BBC and German TV channel ARD, are disseminated via social networks.
These materials contain false accusations against local politicians — from alleged theft of public funds to sexual harassment and other abuses.
A representative of the German Interior Ministry confirmed that the government is monitoring the disinformation campaign, which they called "Matryoshka," but is not yet taking active measures.
"At this moment, this campaign does not have significant reach online. But that doesn't mean we can let our guard down. It still remains a serious disinformation campaign," a ministry representative said.
The "Alternative for Germany" party, which came in second in last year's nationwide elections and achieved its highest result since World War II, continues to gain support ahead of elections in several states in September.
In the state of Saxony-Anhalt, the party has a chance to win an absolute majority of votes in the September 6 elections, which would allow it to form its own state government for the first time.
It was previously reported that the ruling German party — the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) — has created a broad team of experts who will advise it during the campaign for the state elections, with the aim of countering the growing popularity of the AfD.
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