A new survey by the IT industry association Bitkom has found that the majority of Germans fear the influence of foreign states and actors on the upcoming Bundestag election. In the survey, 88% of respondents believe that foreign governments, individuals, or groups will try to manipulate the election through social media. According to the respondents, Russia is at the top of the list of potential manipulators, with 45% believing that the influence originates from Russia, followed by the United States (42%) and China (26%). A small percentage suspect Eastern European states and North Korea of being potential sources of manipulation and disinformation campaigns.
Almost half of the respondents (47%) consider “deepfakes” – realistic but fake videos, photos, or audio recordings – a threat in this election campaign. Three-quarters (75%) of the respondents believe that Germany is not well-prepared to counter fake news and disinformation and more than half (56%) think that the government’s measures against disinformation and fake news are not sufficient.
The survey also found that nearly a third (30%) of internet users in Germany have already come across false information about the upcoming Bundestag election and 37% of respondents check the accuracy of information before sharing it on social media. Two-thirds (67%) of the respondents find the early Bundestag election exciting, while a quarter (24%) is already fed up with the election campaign. For 86% of those under the age of 30, the internet is an important source of information about the election, while for nearly three-quarters (69%) of the respondents, the internet is an important source of information, but personal conversations with friends, family, or acquaintances (82%) still hold the most importance.
Television is the second most important information source, with 76% of the respondents considering it an important source of information, while those over the age of 75 (82%) rely even more heavily on television. The younger generation, on the other hand, mostly seeks information about the election online (86%). News websites or apps from newspapers, TV, or radio are the most popular online sources of information, with 63% of internet users turning to them for election-related news. Social media and messaging services come in second, with 51% of respondents using them to gather information, followed by election aids like the Wahl-o-Mat and YouTube, which are used by 28% and 32% of the respondents, respectively.
Within social media, Facebook stands out, with 56% of users turning to it for election-related information, followed by X/Twitter (35%), WhatsApp (32%) and LinkedIn (25%). Instagram is less often used for election-related purposes (18%) and almost not at all for Tiktok (1%).
Many respondents are concerned about the spread of right-wing extremism and populism online, with 87% saying that society should counter right-wing extremists in the internet more and 78% saying the same about left-wing extremists. Two-thirds (66%) of the respondents are worried that the AfD is particularly influencing young people through social media.