Overview
- Investigative group Antibot4Navalny and Germany’s domestic intelligence service (BfV) identified two coordinated campaigns in June and July that used counterfeit front pages and fake media identities to push false allegations online.
- The operations impersonated outlets such as AFP, ARD and Deutsche Welle and accused politicians from mainstream parties of corruption or sexual offences while noticeably not targeting the AfD.
- The AfD denies any collusion and says claims of ties to Moscow are political attacks, while opposition MPs and analysts say the pattern matches Matryoshka, an influence operation traced to 2023.
- Platforms removed or blocked many flagged accounts but watchdogs report audience reach has been limited so far and German authorities have not launched a large public counter-response.
- The campaigns sharpen debate over election protection because the AfD leads polls in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and lawmakers are pressing for clearer powers for intelligence services to act before the September votes.