Heavy fortifications and cancellations? Misinformation spreads about German Christmas markets

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Heavy fortifications and cancellations? Misinformation spreads about German Christmas markets  Misinformation about the festive season has already begun, particularly regarding the alleged closure of German Christmas markets.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/11/03/heavy-fortifications-and-cancellations-misinformation-spreads-about-german-christmas-marke  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00No, this heavily guarded German Christmas market isn't real.

00:07It might still be too early for some, but with Halloween over, Christmas is well and truly on the way.

00:14This also means, however, that a wave of misinformation about the festive season is also on its way.

00:19A picture going around online and shared on social media in multiple European languages

00:24allegedly shows a small German Christmas market surrounded by police, vehicles and fences.

00:30The caption shared with the photo lament that Christmas markets in Europe

00:34now have to be heavily protected from terrorist attacks,

00:37with some baselessly blaming immigration or diversity.

00:41However, the image has clearly been AI-generated.

00:44Zooming into people's faces and text like the vehicle's registration plates

00:48shows that they are blurred and distorted.

00:50Additionally, in the bottom right-hand corner of the picture,

00:53we can just about see the logo of Gemini, Google's AI assistant,

00:58proving that it was artificially created.

01:00Those sharing the photo appear to want to whip up fear

01:03off the back of real terrorist attacks that have targeted German Christmas markets in the past,

01:08such as the attack in Berlin in 2016 and the attack in Magdeburg last year.

01:12The incidents have also sparked other misleading narratives related to the markets,

01:16most notably false claims that Germany is cancelling all its Christmas markets

01:20due to fears over immigration and terrorism.

01:23We can easily check this by visiting the tourism office websites

01:27belonging to the cities where Germany hosts some of its most iconic markets.

01:31The city of Cologne, for example, whose Christmas markets welcome around 4 million people a year,

01:36is still clearly preparing to celebrate the festivities from mid-November.

01:40The same is true of Frankfurt, which clearly indicates the date its markets will be open.

01:44While there have been reports of some smaller markets being shut down for various reasons,

01:49the vast majority will still go ahead, complete with comprehensive, reasonable security measures.

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