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Sweden warns Russia is running disinformation campaigns targeting German and French elections
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Sweden's Director-General of the Agency for Psychological Defense, Magnus Hjort, has warned that Russia is actively attempting to influence elections in Germany and France through disinformation campaigns. In an interview with Politico, Hjort stated that elections present an opportunity for Vladimir Putin's propaganda apparatus to polarize and divide European societies, with the primary goal of making voters doubt whether their governments should continue sending money and weapons to Ukraine. False reports about Ukrainian corruption and other alleged misconduct are being spread to achieve this. Hjort noted that Moscow is not targeting Sweden's upcoming parliamentary election due to broad national support for Ukraine, but is instead focusing on larger countries like Germany, including state and local elections, and France's presidential campaign. Concerns in Germany include drone attacks, fake social media posts accusing candidates of crimes, and stolen media logos from outlets like Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Spiegel, believed to be orchestrated by Russian bot networks. Hjort expressed dissatisfaction with social media platforms Meta, TikTok, and X for not doing enough to dismantle bot networks. His agency has also detected a Russia-aligned disinformation campaign using the 'Matryoshka method' to distract fact-checkers and journalists.
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A postal ballot envelope lies behind a ballot paper for the election to the 20th House of Representatives of Berlin. Source: Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
Sweden's top official responsible for countering disinformation has issued a warning: According to Magnus Hjort, Director-General of the Swedish Agency for Psychological Defense, Russia is attempting to influence elections in Germany and France.
In an interview with "Politico", which—like WELT—belongs to the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, Hjort stated that elections present an "opportunity" for Vladimir Putin's propaganda apparatus to polarize and divide European societies. The Kremlin's primary objective is to make voters question whether their governments should continue sending money and weapons to Kyiv. To achieve this, false reports about Ukrainian corruption and other alleged misconduct are being disseminated, he added.
Russia Targeting Larger European Nations
Hjort and his team do not believe that Moscow is targeting Sweden's parliamentary election on Sunday. One reason is that the country largely supports Ukraine unanimously. Instead, Russia is focusing on more powerful nations with upcoming elections—namely Germany and France. This includes state and local elections in Germany as well as the French presidential campaign.
"Our assessment is that Russia prioritizes other elections, other countries, larger countries in Europe," Hjort said. "Elections at regional and municipal level are taking place in Germany," he added. "And next year, presidential elections will be held in France."
Growing Concerns Over Hybrid Warfare in Germany
Concerns over the Kremlin's hybrid warfare are intensifying in Germany. These include:
- A drone attack on Leipzig Airport
- Fake posts and videos on social media falsely accusing election candidates of corruption, sexual offenses, or even murder
- Posts featuring stolen logos from well-known media brands such as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung or Spiegel
Russian bot networks are believed to be behind these activities.
Call for Greater Action from Social Media Platforms
Russia-backed actors have already targeted Sweden in recent years with disinformation and influence campaigns, including ahead of the country's NATO accession. Hjort expressed a desire for significantly more effort from social media platforms in dismantling networks of automated accounts that spread foreign disinformation and influence campaigns.
Asked whether he was satisfied with the efforts of platforms such as Meta, TikTok, and X to combat the problem, Hjort replied: "No. I think the platforms should do more to clean their offerings of these bot networks. So there is still room for improvement."
Hjort noted that his agency records a "constant stream" of foreign manipulation attempts and interference, originating from countries such as Russia, but also China and Iran.
The 'Matryoshka Method'
In recent days, Hjort's team discovered indications of a Russia-aligned attempt at a disinformation campaign using the so-called Matryoshka method—named after the Russian wooden doll. This technique aims to distract fact-checkers, journalists, and other actors by sending them emails with the content "Look what the Russians are doing."
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