Russian Propaganda Attack On Germany, Explained

What You Need to Know:

✓ Russian propaganda in Germany is coming “straight from the arsenal of hybrid warfare,”
 
✓ Russia’s use of propaganda in Germany is aimed to present the West as a threat and is trying to weaken German Chancellor Angela Merkel;

✓ However, many of these attempts to influence have backfired;
 
✓Russia’s role in Germany can also be seen as an ideological game;

Russian propaganda in Germany is coming “straight from the arsenal of hybrid warfare,” says Ulrich Speck, senior Fellow at the Transatlantic Academy, “trying to influence both public opinion an demonstrating to German leaders that Russia has influence in Germany.”

According to Speck, Russia’s use of propaganda in Germany is aimed to present the West as a threat and is trying to weaken German Chancellor Angela Merkel by showing that she is “acting irresponsibly by opening the door to asylum seekers.”

However, many of these attempts to influence have backfired. The alleged rape of a 13-year-old Russian-speaker by a migrant, that gained media attention in Russia, and attracted 10,000 demonstrators in Berlin proved to be fake. “The feedback and the repercussions work against the Russian interest,” says Andreas Umland. The Moscow visit of Bavaria’s president with Putin also received a lot of criticism, as did the invitation of Alexei Markov, a Russian-born DNR representative to a conference in Germany.

Russia’s role in Germany can also be seen as an ideological game: “What is attracting people to Russia and Germany is Anti-Americanism, the idea that the US is an imperialist power that needs to be counter-balanced. And the person that is doing that is Vladimir Putin,” adds Speck.

Hromadske’s Ian Bateson and a guest co-host Tanya Lokot of Global Voices spoke to Ulrich Speck, Senior Fellow at The Transatlantic Academy and Andreas Umland, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation during a live broadcast of The Sunday Show on February 7th, 2016 in Kyiv.