Burkhard Even, head of counter-intelligence at the BfV agency, said the German elections had survived widespread attempts by Russian media to influence the outcome of Sunday’s ballot, although there was some “low-level propaganda which did not have a significant impact on voters “.
But although the result is in and Angela Merkel has secured her fourth term as chancellor, he warned the threat was far from over.
He told a conference in Berlin: “The German parliamentary election … was spared major attacks, but I must point out that even after an election such attempts are possible, for instance in trying to discredit officials or in trying to affect the forging of a new government.
“I don’t think it affected the election as a whole or that the election outcome was affected by several percentage points.
“But there was an attempt and the risks are enormous. And the risk is rising not diminishing.”
vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.
The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.
Russian-backed media such as Sputnik or Russia Today published a large amount of propaganda before the vote, he added.
Russia has denied meddling in other countries’ votes.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel won Sunday’s vote, but her conservatives lost ground, leaving her facing protracted talks to form a coalition government.
The AfD which has called for stronger ties with Russia and the lifting of sanctions on Moscow, won nearly 13 percent of the vote and moved into parliament for the first time.
Stefan Meister from the German Council on Foreign Relations this week said many Russian social media posters had abruptly stopped posting messages supporting the far-left Left party and switched to the AfD.
Another researcher with the council, Sarah Pagung, also cited hundreds of tweets under the hashtag “Wahlbetrug” or voter fraud that popped up the day of the election and raised questions about the vote’s legitimacy.
Andreas Koenen, head of the cyber security directorate at the German Interior Ministry, told Reuters at the conference that German officials were closely tracking any attempts to influence the coalition talks.
“Things happen all the time. We’re paying very close attention,” he said.
Separately, security officials said they were looking at one fake Tweet posted under the name of Michael Link, former director of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), who was just elected to parliament.
The fake posting said 3.15 million new German citizens (a common euphemism for immigrants) had voted for Merkel’s conservatives, citing what it called a report by OSCE election observers that it said had been leaked by Link.
Facebook on Wednesday said it had taken down tens of thousands of fake profiles in the final month before Germany’s election to ensure that social media network was not used as a platform to manipulate public opinion.