Researchers Identify 49 Fake Videos and 12 Altered Covers Mimicking German Media Brands

Researchers from the collective Antibot4Navalny identified at least 49 fake videos, 12 falsified newspaper covers and one image of fake graffiti during the first week of a campaign that mimics the branding of Spiegel TV, Bild, T-Online and the Institute for the Study of War.

The fabricated material promotes claims that western German landlords prefer renting to foreigners over eastern Germans and that most young Germans want East Germany restored. Posts appear on X, Bluesky and TikTok.

The campaign advances the narrative that Germany is increasingly divided between East and West, with multiple posts asserting that eastern Germans face unfair treatment or political marginalisation. Other items cite false statistics claiming broad support for restoring East Germany or alleging discrimination by west Germans in housing and other areas.

Antibot4Navalny stated the operation bears hallmarks of the Matryoshka disinformation network previously linked by European authorities to pro-Russian influence activity.

The effort has concentrated on eastern Germany and seeks to exploit societal tensions before state elections scheduled for September in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Recent polling shows the Alternative for Germany party leading in both states, and the party has stated it hopes to win more than 40 percent of the vote. Germany has been reunified for more than three decades.

Lea Frühwirth, a senior researcher at the Centre for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy, told Euronews that foreign influence campaigns typically amplify existing divisions rather than create new ones. She noted that reunification did not occur at eye level and that structural differences persist, with many in the East reporting grievances.