Our work on the 2021 German elections.
The German Elections Project is the hub for identifying and analyzing information manipulation targeting Germany’s elections, providing open source digital tools and assessments of Germany’s information ecosystem, and building awareness of foreign efforts to interfere in the elections, as well as domestic challenges to democratic processes.
Revealing Foreign and Domestic Narratives in the 2021 Elections
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Targeting Baerbock: Gendered Disinformation in Germany’s 2021 Federal Election
On April 19, 2021, Annalena Baerbock was announced as the German Green Party candidate for chancellor. With this nomination, Baerbock became the only woman in the race to succeed Angela Merkel. However, her nomination was undermined from the outset [...]
Mandatory Vaccinations, Covid-19 Origin, and A National Holiday: July’s Top Findings from the 2021 German Elections Dashboard
July saw a continuation of foreign actors’ active engagement in German online political discourse through state-backed media and diplomatic accounts. As in previous months, Russian actors put a particular emphasis on disseminating anti-vaccination n [...]
Kristine Berzina Discusses Disinformation in the Lead Up to Germany’s Federal Elections with NZZ
Disinformation, especially coming from Russia, is a growing problem. The goal: destabilize democracy. Explore the German Election Dashboard. [...]
A Post-Merkel German Foreign Policy: A Look Into the Parties’ Election Agendas
Why It Matters After 16 years of government under Chancellor Angela Merkel and 8 years in a so-called “grand coalition” between the CDU/CSU and the SPD, it is all but certain that the federal elections in September will bring a change in government [...]
Top 5 German Election Dashboard Takeaways
Germany’s upcoming federal election in September is not only important for the German people but can be an alluring target for foreign and domestic actors seeking to influence the future trajectory of the country or seeking to undermine democratic p [...]
Between Messaging and Manipulation: How Russia, China, Turkey, and Iran Engaged in German Political Discourses in June 2021
What We’re Seeing on the 2021 German Elections Dashboard In June, as in previous months, foreign state-backed media and diplomatic accounts actively engaged in online German political discourses, at times manipulating information. Russian actors con [...]
2021 German Elections Dashboard Analysis for May
What We're Seeing on the 2021 German Elections Dashboard Russia Covid-19 Following April’s trend, Russian state-backed actors continued their extensive coverage of coronavirus-related topics. Six of the seven most watched YouTube videos from RT Deu [...]
2021 German Elections Dashboard Analysis: Russian State-Backed Media Narratives on Covid-19, Vaccines, Ukraine, and Nord Stream 2
March and April Monitoring: Russian State-Backed Media ASD and GMF analyzed data from the German Elections Dashboard to understand the narratives that state-backed actors are pushing ahead of the German federal elections in September. In March and [...]
Kristine Berzina Speaks to RND About Russia’s Disinformation Operations in Germany
Senior Fellow Kristine Berzina spoke to German outlet RND about our new German Election Dashboard and Russia's information manipulation operations in Germany around the election and the coronavirus. Please click the link below to read the full artic [...]
Event Recap: Setting the Scene on the 2021 German Elections
This year’s German federal election will bring about substantial change not just for Germany, but for Europe and the transatlantic relationship, as well. Come September, voters will choose between the Greens’ Annalena Baerbock, the Christian Democra [...]
Introducing the German Election Dashboard
On May 11, ASD Media and Digital Disinformation Fellow Bret Schafer presented the new German Election Dashboard at a GMF Berlin event. The Dashboard is an interactive, open-source tool that allows users to track messaging from influential foreign an [...]
Introducing the 2021 German Elections Project
Germany’s federal election in September this year will mark a critical change not only for Germany but for Europe as a whole. Chancellor Angela Merkel has led Europe’s largest country and economic powerhouse since 2005, long before the specter of th [...]