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Voters in Germany were exposed to a significant amount of far-right narratives online during the federal election, driven by AI-generated content and Russian disinformation campaigns, research has shown.
The findings come amid calls for the Government to acknowledge the impact it had on delivering a record result for the far right. Alternative for Germany (AfD) — which opposes sending weapons to Ukraine and has called for an end to sanctions on Moscow — secured a historic second-place finish on Sunday with almost 21%.
Konstantin von Notz, a Green member of parliament who chairs the committee that oversees the German intelligence services, told the Financial Times that it was impossible to say exactly how many votes were swayed by the content.
However, while not calling for the result to be overturned, Von Notz, told the publication that “what you can say for sure is that there was relevant, illegitimate influence on decision-making processes”. He added that “we simply have to recognise that our elections are already manipulated — and successfully manipulated”.
The MP expressed further alarm that the Afd, together with the far-left Die Linke, would be able to form a “blocking minority” in the next parliament.
Experts monitoring social media during the German elections identified the involvement of Russian-based groups such as “Doppelganger” and “Storm-1516,” which US officials had found to be active in America’s previous election.
These campaigns utilised artificial intelligence to spread their messaging ahead of the vote, which ultimately saw Germany elect a new Bundestag.
Methods employed in these disinformation campaigns included creating fake TV news stories and deep-fake videos featuring fabricated accounts from “witnesses” or “whistleblowers” about prominent politicians.
In November 2024, shortly before the snap election was called, a video surfaced claiming that a parliamentary member who was an outspoken supporter of Ukraine was a Russian spy. The video used AI to suggest that a former adviser was making the accusation.
In another incident, a video featuring an 18-year-old woman falsely accused a German minister of child abuse. This video, also created using AI, was part of a broader disinformation campaign that plagued the election period.
Beyond the extremes of Russian-led disinformation campaigns, far-right groups within Germany also ramped up their online presence.
Larissa Wagner, an AI-generated social media influencer, became a notable figure in this regard. On 22 September 2024, the day of the Brandenburg state election, Larissa posted a video to her X account saying, “Hey guys, I’m just on my way to the polling station. I’m daring this time. I’m voting for AfD.”
Larissa’s accounts on X and Instagram were both created in the last year, and her regular videos espoused far-right narratives, such as telling Syrian immigrants to “pack your bags and go back home.” She even claimed to have interned with the right-wing magazine Compact, which was banned by the German Government in the previous year.
When Sky News messaged ‘her’ on Instagram to inquire about her creators, Larissa responded, “I think it’s completely irrelevant who controls me. Influencers like me are the future… Like anyone else, I want to share my perspective on things. Every influencer does that. But because I’m young, attractive, and right-wing, it’s framed as ‘influencing the political discourse’.”
While Larissa only had 680 followers on Instagram, she had 5,400 on X and a blue tick, enabling her to reach a far bigger audience by paying for it. Her most recent posts have racked up thousands of views.
Her final post on X before the election contained AI generated clips interspersed with content from the news. This content made both sides of the AfD’s vision—the idyllic, nostalgia-driven future it promised, as well as the dystopian one it warned about if others won the election—appear startlingly real.
The hard right’s use of generative AI on social media extends beyond characters like Larissa. During the German election period, AI-generated content played a significant role in bolstering Alice Weidel’s anti-migration, populist Alternative for Germany party (AfD).
Top politicians in AfD posted and shared a slew of AI-generated images and videos, contributing to an entire online ecosystem of AI-generated content supporting the party. Norbert Kleinwächter, a parliamentarian for the AfD, was among the party’s most active posters of AI-generated content.
The national party’s website featured a helmet-clad coal miner, a carefree woman dancing, and a family all smiling, all of which were AI-generated and were accompanied by simple slogans, “Now I get my freedom back” and “Now is the time to return”. These stock images depicted the kind of “regular