The Russian Federation seeks to steer public opinion in Germany to its advantage by spreading disinformation and propaganda and by carrying out further activities to influence society. Germany’s partners, for example in the EU and NATO, are also affected by the illegitimate influence of the Russian government, in particular in the information domain.

Since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the Federal Government has seen an increase in disinformation from Russian government-controlled media and pro-Russia websites, as well as from official diplomatic and pro-Kremlin Twitter accounts. Sanctions have been imposed to restrict the reach of Russian pro-government media; since these sanctions went into effect, more and more pro-Russian disinformation and propaganda have been disseminated via social media accounts. Russian government bodies are increasingly operating as agents of disinformation, using all means of communication at their disposal, such as official press releases from Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, their own social media channels on platforms such as Telegram, and websites of the Russian embassies.

The Russian government aims to control the way its war of aggression on Ukraine in violation of international law is perceived. It spreads false claims to try to justify its military invasion, hide civilian casualties and cement its narrative of the “anti-Russian West”. Russian disinformation and propaganda also slanders Ukraine and portrays the West as a warmonger.

The European External Action Service (EEAS) exposes current disinformation about Russia’s war in Ukraine on its English-language website EUvsDisinfo: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/ukraine

Some texts of the EEAS are also available in German: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/de

The Federal Government’s Press and Information Office (BPA) is another source of information about disinformation as a weapon https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/themen/umgang-mit-desinformation/desinformation-als-waffe-2167604
and about Russian narratives: https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/themen/umgang-mit-desinformation/aus-narrativen-desinformation-2080112

The German broadcaster ARD also checks the facts on Russia’s war in Ukraine on its website (in German): https://www.tagesschau.de/faktenfinder