Audrey Thronson '23 | Russian Disinformation Targets Germany

Euronews

Germany as a Target

EUvsDisinfo, the EU’s disinformation watchdog, released a report on March 9th revealing that “Germany is singled out as the main target for Russian disinformation efforts among European Member States.” Since the launch of the EUvsDisinfo Database on Disinformation in late 2015, there have been 700 documented cases of deliberate attempts to spread disinformation about Germany. Comparatively, there are 300+ cases for France, 170+ for Italy, and 40+ for Spain.

The most recent wave of the disinformation campaign against Germany began in February. Russian disinformation has capitalized on the case of a Russian family in Berlin whose three children were taken into custody after reports of child endangerment. Russian politicians and the Russian media argue that the incident is an example of the systematic  repression of Russians in Germany. In late February, Russian outlets circulated a forged document stating that Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of the poisoned anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny, is a German citizen.

Notably, these disinformation topics have not appeared in Russia’s channels in Germany, such as RT or Sputnik. Though, the report emphasizes that the disinformation should not be brushed off as targeting Russia’s domestic audience. “Russia’s doublespeak is a systematic and deliberate approach. It intends to create uncertainty, sow discord; give Russian officials room for manoeuvre. Germany can be played against other EU Member States, against the EU itself, against other countries,” the report states.

Strained Relations

The disinformation report comes at a time of tense EU-Moscow and Berlin-Moscow relations following the poisoning and imprisonment of Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny. 

Since the poisoning of Navalny with a military-grade nerve agent on August 20th, Germany has been one of the most vocal advocates for sanctions against Russia. It is assumed that the Kremlin is behind the attack on Navalny, who received treatment in Berlin and recovered in the Black Forest.

The Kremlin has depicted Germany as the clear instigator of these sanctions. When EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell met with the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Borrell called for Navalny’s release, but stressed the importance of EU-Moscow cooperation and dialogue over climate change and the Iran nuclear deal. However, during the February 5th talks, Russia expelled three German, Polish, and Swedish diplomats from Russia. Furthermore, on February 18th, a spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched an overt verbal attack on Germany.

On March 2nd, the EU formally blacklisted four senior Russian officials. Russia has already faced EU economic sanctions over the annexation of Crimea and support of insurgents in Ukraine.

The future of Berlin-Moscow and EU-Moscow relations are unclear. Chancellor Merkel, having grown up in Communist East Germany, is a long-time critic of Russia’s human rights abuses. However, despite criticism from the US and EU, Germany is continuing with its plans for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline which will carry gas to Europe from Russia via Germany. The increasingly tense EU-Moscow relationship was an agenda item at the European Council Meeting on March 25th-26th. Meanwhile, the Russian government has ambitious plans to expand the dissemination of disinformation and propaganda in Germany, allocating more than 550 million Euros to the budgets of RT and Sputnik over the upcoming four years.