Disinformation surge targets German regional candidates ahead of September elections

A wave of fabricated videos and posts has been spreading false accusations against several German politicians before the September 6 state elections.

In the run-up to the September 6 state elections, a coordinated disinformation effort has produced over 180 counterfeit videos and posts that impersonate major German news brands and levy serious allegations against a range of candidates, including Left party hopeful Eric Stehr and members of the CDU, SPD, Greens and FDP. Authorities have verified that Stehr is not under investigation for murder and that Bauhaus University Weimar reports no grading scandal or illicit parties.

The campaign, traced to the online operation known as Matryoshka or Operation Overload, appears to be driven by Russian-speaking actors, though a direct link to the Russian state remains unproven. Analysts say the operation’s aim is to tarnish individual politicians and inflame east-west German tensions, using AI-generated voices and forged footage. Platform moderation has limited the reach of many posts, but some have still garnered tens of thousands of views. Stehr plans to file a criminal complaint after a request to remove a video from X was denied.