A recent leak of documents from the Russian consulting firm “Agency of Social Design” has revealed efforts to manipulate German elections and bolster support for the far-right party “Alternative for Germany” (AfD). The documents, obtained through investigative journalism by Sueddeutsche Zeitung and broadcasters NDR and WDR, show how the agency used social media to influence public opinion in Germany.
The leaked documents provide insight into the employees of the Agency of Social Design and confirm the firm’s operations under the direct supervision of the administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin. `
The primary strategy employed by the agency involved spreading fake news and memes on social media platforms, particularly Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram. Additionally, they generated and orchestrated corresponding comments to further disseminate their narratives.
Journalists involved in the investigation have verified the existence of several social media pages mentioned in the documents. The agency’s activities were measured against specific key performance indicators (KPIs). For instance, one of the goals was to “increase the vote share of the AfD to 20%” in nationwide electoral polls.Other declared objectives of this campaign against Germany included increasing the level of “fear of the future,” targeting a point where more than 50% of Germans would feel this way. Another aim was to polarise German society, with a focus on decreasing the willingness to vote for the Green Party to below 40%.
The documents outlined themes that were intended to be promoted within the German social media sphere. These themes included narratives such as “Germany is defenceless,” “The US will deliberately drive Germany to bankruptcy through anti-Russian measures,” and “Germany is in the deepest economic and social crisis in its modern history.”
The media has previously reported on how the Kremlin attempted to use the AfD to achieve its objectives, primarily aiming to destabilise German society.
According to the investigation by Sueddeutsche Zeitung, NDR, and WDR, the Agency of Social Design may be behind the Kremlin’s large-scale disinformation operation known as “Doppelgänger.” This operation involved creating clones of websites belonging to well-known media outlets and state institutions.
The agency also conducted a campaign ahead of the European Parliament elections to increase support for right-wing parties.
This effort aimed to damage existing EU policies, its key players, and specifically target the reputation of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
In a related development, the United States has recently announced extensive measures against Russian propaganda. The US has accused Russia of collaborating with its intelligence services to influence democratic processes.
Read also:
Germany in the Crosshairs: Russian Propaganda Aims to Weaken NATO and Back the AfD
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