As Germany braces for pivotal state elections in September, researchers have uncovered a coordinated disinformation campaign that exploits lingering East-West divisions. The operation, which Antibot4Navalny suspects is linked to Moscow, has produced at least 49 AI-generated videos, 12 falsified newspaper covers, and one fabricated image of graffiti—all designed to stoke resentment between eastern and western Germans.
The fake content mimics the branding of well-known German outlets such as Spiegel TV, Bild, and T-Online, as well as research organizations like the Institute for the Study of War. One doctored newspaper cover claims the “West hates the East,” while AI-generated television reports suggest western landlords prefer renting to foreigners over eastern Germans. Other videos falsely assert that most young Germans want to restore East Germany.
Targeting the East Ahead of Key Votes
The campaign, promoted on X, Bluesky, and TikTok, focuses on the eastern states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where elections will serve as a bellwether for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition government of the CDU and SPD. Recent polling shows the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) leading in both states, with the party aiming for over 40% of the vote—a result that could give it an outright majority and its first chance to lead a state government.
Antibot4Navalny attributes the operation to the “Matryoshka” network, a disinformation infrastructure previously linked to pro-Russian influence activities by European authorities. Matryoshka campaigns are known for impersonating credible sources to spread false claims that appear legitimate. This iteration repeatedly pushes the narrative that Germany is increasingly divided between East and West, citing fabricated statistics about housing discrimination and political marginalization.
Lea Frühwirth, a senior researcher at the German non-profit Centre for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (CeMAS), explains that foreign influence campaigns often amplify existing social fractures rather than invent new ones. “Reunification did not take place at eye level, and many people in the East report profound grievances at the hands of West German people,” she told Euronews’ verification team. “Structural differences persist to this day.”
Frühwirth adds that Russian and pro-Russian communication around German elections tends to favor parties like the AfD, which has positioned itself as pro-Russian. The campaign’s goal, she says, is to deepen political polarization by pitting groups against one another. Whether such efforts actually shift voting behavior is difficult to measure, especially since the campaign appears to inflate viewership numbers to exaggerate its reach.
The timing is significant: Germany’s internal divisions remain a sensitive topic three decades after reunification. While the country has made economic strides, eastern states still lag in wages, infrastructure, and political representation. This context makes the region fertile ground for disinformation that frames eastern Germans as second-class citizens.
In related developments, Germany is also debating whether to revoke temporary protection for military-age Ukrainian men, a policy shift that could affect thousands. Meanwhile, the recovery of a Soviet WWII artillery piece from the Neisse River in eastern Germany serves as a reminder of the region’s complex history.
The European Union, for its part, is pushing for an ambitious budget with new own resources, though member states remain divided. As the September elections approach, the spread of fake news targeting Germany’s East-West fault lines underscores the broader challenge of defending democratic processes from foreign interference.
