Facts against Fakes: 7th Weekly Update by GADMO
In the run-up to and immediate aftermath of the German federal election taking place on 23 February 2025, GADMO, EDMO’s Hub covering Germany and Austria, provides weekly insights into key election-related developments in Germany’s digital information space. Please note that the below is a semi-automated translation of the German version of the weekly election newsletter.
A gripping election campaign ended on February 23. In addition to the daily misinformation that we examined, we were naturally concerned with a higher-level question: How effective are the platforms’ measures against disinformation? Meta, TikTok, and others have committed to protecting the integrity of elections and working with the EU Commission under the Code of Practice on Disinformation (CoP) to counter deepfakes and misleading content that could influence political opinion-forming. X (formerly Twitter) withdrew from this commitment in 2023. Telegram has so far shown no willingness to cooperate in this way.
GADMO partner CORRECTIV tested how one of these platforms handles such content and reported 201 false claims about the election on TikTok. These included misleading “decision-making aids” with an overview of the election manifestos or fake quotes from politicians on the subject of migration and asylum. In only 21 cases did the company see a violation of the guidelines. This handling of reports could be illegal and violate EU law. You can find out more about this in this article.
Further observations will follow shortly. One thing can already be said: the fight against disinformation on the platforms is not being conducted as vigorously as it could or even should be.
How the election is being attacked
We worked extra hours on election weekend to inform you about how attempts were being made to manipulate the election on the major social media platforms. On election Sunday, users shared photos of ballot boxes without seals and suggested that the election was not fair. However, as we can prove in our fact-check, seals on ballot boxes are not required. And no, the AfD is not calling for signatures on ballot papers as part of a competition, as was claimed in a sharepic. This makes the ballot papers invalid, as this fact-check shows.
What we have uncovered recently
While the counting of the federal election was still underway, the claim spread that Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had commented on the preliminary result and threatened to annul the election. There is no record of such a statement by the Federal President on election night. A similar false report was already circulating during the election campaign.
Who got it wrong recently
In a TV debate with Olaf Scholz four days before the federal election, Friedrich Merz spoke about 500 “Islamist threats”, “mainly from Afghanistan and Syria”, who were walking around freely in Germany. But both the numbers and the information on nationalities are wrong, as our fact-check shows.
Upcoming EDMO event
Preserving Information Integrity in Election Times: Latest insights and lessons from Germany, Romania & Poland
March 4, 2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. CET |
After the German Bundestag election in February, elections in both Poland and Romania are scheduled for May. Against this backdrop, the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) is organizing an English-language online panel that brings together perspectives from Germany, Romania and Poland to initiate a solution-oriented EU-wide dialogue on election disinformation and prevention strategies.
Selected fact-checks
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| Seals on ballot boxes not required | Email address on ballot papers invalidates election | Merz makes false statements about “Islamist threats” |
| On election Sunday, users shared photos of ballot boxes without seals, suggesting that the election might not be taking place legally. However, seals on ballot boxes are not required in Germany. By law, they must be “lockable.” This was also confirmed by the Federal Returning Officer.
(in German) |
A sharepic claimed that voters could take part in a competition if they signed their ballot papers. An AfD logo can be seen in it, as well as the logo of the Federal Election Commissioner. The graphic that was distributed was manipulated. According to the Federal Election Law, a signature on the ballot paper invalidates the vote.
(in German) |
In a TV debate with Olaf Scholz on February 19, Friedrich Merz spoke about 500 “Islamist threats”, “mainly from Afghanistan and Syria”, who were walking around freely in Germany. But both the numbers and the information on nationalities are incorrect. According to data from the Federal Criminal Police Office, the number of threats who are in Germany and at large is significantly lower.
(in German)
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