Kremlin-backed disinformation campaign targets German parliamentary elections via hundreds of fake news sites

Over 100 fake news websites have been implicated in spreading false information as part of Russian efforts to interfere in the upcoming German parliamentary elections, according to an investigation by the nonprofit center CORRECTIV and the disinformation tracking project NewsGuard. These websites have been found to be linked to the late Yevgeny Prigozhin’s “troll factory” and Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU.

Fake news about German politicians began appearing en masse in November 2024, the investigation notes. Among the politicians targeted in the disinfo campaign are German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and the Green Party’s candidate for chancellor, Robert Habeck.

For instance, fake reports about Baerbock claim she had an affair with a male escort during a trip to Africa. Another article falsely accuses Robert Habeck of sexually assaulting a young woman several years ago. Altogether, over 100 interconnected websites were identified in the investigation.

The fake news is attributed to a group called Storm-1516, according to CORRECTIV. This group is connected to Yevgeny Prigozhin’s “troll factory” (the so-called “Internet Research Agency”), the GRU, and former U.S. police officer John Mark Dougan, who received asylum in Russia and now lives in Moscow.

Dougan was previously involved in spreading fake news about U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election. According to a report by The Washington Post that cited a European intelligence agency, Dougan “worked directly with Russian military intelligence” and “was provided funding by an officer from the GRU.”

Pro-Russian politicians in Germany also help disseminate fake news after it first appears on the websites. For example, in December, the outlet Presseneu published a fabricated story about an alleged migration agreement between Germany and Kenya, under which nearly 2 million Kenyan workers would move to Germany. The article cited as its sources Kenyan portal Tuko and South African outlet The South African. However, both publications were revealed to have been paid for by third parties. The South African, for instance, received €620 for its article, though the identity of the sponsor remains unknown.

Influencer Alina Lipp, known for her pro-Russian stance, shared the story with her nearly 190,000 Telegram followers.

CORRECTIV highlighted that pro-Kremlin and far-right politicians and activists are often among the first to share fake articles. These include Alina Lipp, Michael Wittwer, a former candidate for the far-right party Pro Chemnitz, and Jovica Jović, a pro-Russian activist. Their posts are frequently shared by Alena Dirksen, who most recently managed a Russian restaurant in the town of Mittweida. Whether they are paid for their involvement is unclear.

They are also connected through the so-called “Foundation for Combating Repression,” which publishes articles aimed at drawing attention to alleged abuses in Western countries. Jović and Lipp are frequently cited on the foundation's website. The foundation was established by Yevgeny Prigozhin — the late head of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group and the creator of the Internet Research Agency. The latter, widely known as a propaganda “troll factory,” has run online influence operations to advance Russia's business and political interests abroad.

Some German websites spreading pro-Russian fake news are currently inactive, while others, although not directly publishing fake news, reprint stories from far-right or pro-Russian outlets like RT. The investigation warns that this could be the “initial stage” of a large-scale disinformation campaign that will intensify as the elections, scheduled for February 2025, draw closer.