A majority of Germans believe that disinformation campaigns organized from abroad pose a threat to democracy in Europe, according to a survey by the opinion research institute Forsa.
The study conducted on behalf of the magazine Internationale Politik revealed that 73% of the respondents believe that foreign-controlled disinformation campaigns pose a large or very large danger to European democracy.
The level of concern about the threat seems to be slightly lower for people surveyed in eastern Germany compared to those in the west. In the east, 67% of respondents believe that such campaigns pose a large or very large danger, while in the west, the figure is 75%.
According to the survey, younger respondents aged 18-29 are less likely to believe that disinformation campaigns are a major threat (66%), while those aged 45-59 are the most concerned at 83%. Forsa surveyed 1,004 people on June 6-7 for the poll, which had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
As the upcoming state and national elections in Germany and in the United States draw nearer, concerns have been raised by experts and lawmakers about potential interference by foreign entities such as Russia and China, particularly through disinformation spread on social media platforms.