Russian disinformation could 'poison' upcoming election, German MPs warn

euronews (in English)

With less than a month until Germans go out and vote in the parliamentary election, lawmakers are warning that authoritarian states, including Russia, are using disinformation to stoke instability.

Transcript

00:00With less than a month until the German elections, MPs are warning that authoritarian states,

00:05including Russia, are using disinformation to stoke instability.

00:09The German foreign ministry identified the doppelganger group of being behind

00:14fake news social media accounts in Germany.

00:16CSU politician Thomas Erndl confirmed that the government is aware

00:21Russia is trying to influence elections in Europe, especially in Poland and in Germany.

00:26Russia is trying very hard.

00:30It will certainly have consequences.

00:33The accession to the AfD, for example, is based on these mechanisms.

00:40Doubts of our state, of our institutions.

00:44To see, to spread that nothing works,

00:48that foreigners and refugees are a big problem.

00:54Euronews requested a comment from the Russian embassy in Berlin regarding the allegations,

01:00but received no response before publication.

01:24We need to use modern technology, artificial intelligence,

01:27which helps in the analysis of these processes.

01:31But we also need an awareness in the population,

01:36and I think we still have a long way to go.

01:39Green politician Konstantin von Notz told Euronews that authoritarian states,

01:44like Russia and China, export democratic vulnerabilities through disinformation.

01:50News services are also an important means of countering this influence.

01:56We need better equipment, more staff,

02:00but above all, more legal powers.

02:04I think that the pendulum has to swing back a little

02:07in view of the security requirements,

02:10and that's why we have to give the services more rights.

02:14Erndl recommends strong European coordination to tackle disinformation,

02:18especially if perpetrators are located abroad.

02:21Von Notz criticizes both the EU and German Interior Ministry

02:25for failing to tackle the problem of disinformation adequately.

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