Fact Check: Russian Disinformation Campaign Targets German State Elections with Deepfake Videos

Background: The Matryoshka Network

According to DW, the clustering of forgeries around election timelines is particularly striking. The fabricated content is disseminated via social media, including the platform BlueSky. The aim is to undermine trust in democratic institutions and influence public opinion shortly before the election.

Deutsche Welle emphasizes that the Matryoshka campaigns have repeatedly drawn attention in recent years using similar methods. According to the information, these involve both fake news reports and entirely fabricated interviews created using artificial intelligence tools.

According to DW information, similar campaigns have also been observed in other European countries, such as France and Slovakia. The approach — publishing fabricated scandal videos shortly before elections — is said to be a recurring pattern of Russian disinformation.

Methods of Forgery

DW highlights that forgeries can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from genuine media reports. Users should therefore be vigilant and check videos for their source and independent fact-checks before sharing them.

According to the analysis, those affected include candidates from the FDP and the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht alliance. The parties themselves have so far not publicly commented on the accusations. The German federal government in Berlin also has not yet officially responded to the specific allegations in the DW analysis.

Reactions and Recommendations

Smirnova explained to DW that the forgeries are often designed to look like serious reports at first glance. Only upon closer inspection do inconsistencies become apparent, such as in the lip movements of the depicted individuals.

Deutsche Welle is calling on media, policymakers, and civil society to identify and label disinformation at an early stage. Effective combating requires both public education and the strengthening of media literacy among the population.

The fact analysis does not provide details on exactly when the state elections will take place or in which federal states they will be held. DW merely points out that the disinformation wave coincides temporally with the election campaign.