Germany has established a special task force to counter disinformation campaigns aimed at undermining democracy and sowing discord in society, citing Bloomberg.
With the creation of the new unit, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's ruling coalition takes the next step in implementing the findings of its first national security strategy, published last year, which identified the Kremlin as the main threat to its security.
The task force, created through a joint initiative of the Ministries of the Interior, Foreign Affairs, and Justice, will begin its work with 10 specialized analysts, with plans to double the staff to 20 who will be responsible for monitoring and analysis.
The primary focus will be on detecting and exposing disinformation operations on social media, including those likely sponsored by the Kremlin. One example is the so-called Doppelgaenger campaign, which, according to the German government, resulted in over a million X posts from tens of thousands of fake accounts within a few weeks.
Another goal is to preempt and neutralize campaigns before they start, a tactic known as pre-bunking.
Putin's war
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in an interview with Sueddeutsche Zeitung that Vladimir Putin's war is also directed against Europe.
According to her, Putin aims to destroy the peaceful order in Europe and as many liberal democracies as possible along with it. "He also has far-right and far-left accomplices in our parliaments who individually adopt his propaganda," she said.
On June 11, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally addressed the German Bundestag for the first time. Two pro-Russian parties staged a walkout, not showing up in the hall. Only a few deputies from the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) faction were present, while the moderate left-wing Union of Sahra Wagenknecht (USW) had no representatives in attendance.