RUSSIAN MEDIA in GERMANY How Russian Information Warfare and Disinformation Have Affected Germany
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RUSSIAN MEDIA IN GERMANY How Russian information warfare and disinformation have affected Germany Dr Susanne Spahn 2 Russian media in Germany Imprint Publisher Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit Karl-Marx-Straße 2 14482 Potsdam-Babelsberg /freiheit.org /FriedrichNaumannStiftungFreiheit /FNFreiheit Author Dr Susanne Spahn Editors Referat Globale Themen, Fachbereich Internationales Contacts Telephone: +49 30 220126-34 Fax: +49 30 690881-02 E-Mail: [email protected] The publication is current as of: October 2020 Information on the use of the publication This publication is an information resource of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. The publication is provided free of charge. The use of this publication by political parties or for election purposes as campaign material is prohibited. (Elections for the Bundestag, Landtag or at the municipal level, as well as for elections for the European Parliament.) License Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) 3 Russian media in Germany Contents 1 Information as a weapon 4 2 Russia’s global media campaign 5 3 Main focus: Germany 7 4 The actors of the Russian media network in Germany 7 4.1 Ruptly TV and RT Deutsch 7 4.2 Redfish and Maffick Media 8 4.3 Rossiya Segodnya with Sputnik Deutschland and SNA-Radio 9 4.4 Special weapon: Trolls / Internet Research Agency 10 5 Examples of distorted media coverage 11 5.1 Selective presentation of facts and fake news: Ukraine 11 5.2 Biased journalism: Elections for the Bundestag in 2017 and elections for the Landtag in Bavaria in 2018 12 5.3 Russian media and the travels abroad of politicians from Alternative for Germany 13 5.4 Russian media and the foreign travel of MPs from the party Die Linke 15 5.5 Biased journalism: European Parliament elections in 2019 16 6 Scope of the Russian media in Germany 18 7 Summary 21 8 Sources 22 9 About the author 27 4 Russian media in Germany 1 Information as a weapon Information has always been used as a weapon to deceive the primarily at US activities that call into question Russia's position enemy during military or political conflicts. Deliberately as a world power. The RT channel should "break the monopoly of misleading false information is called disinformation1. the Anglo-American media", according to Putin9. The international Digitisation makes the spread of disinformation a global news agency Rossiya Segodnya and the RT channel represent the problem. It is attributed to concrete persons, media, or countries. two pillars of Russian journalism abroad10 and have similar tasks. While connections to American President Donald Trump and Fox The Russian media abroad want to achieve in their sense “an News are often cited, countries like China, Iran and Russia are objective perception in the world”. At the same time, the influence now becoming the focus of attention2. In this article we will study on public opinion abroad is openly defined as a goal, as set out in the specifics of the disinformation spread by the Russian media the Concept for Russia's Foreign Policy in 201311. Leading media in Germany. figures emphasize that they are in state of media war: editor-in- chief Margarita Simonyan of RT defines the media, which is run The information policy of the Russian government is part of its by the Kremlin's "Ministry of Defence", as a "weapon just like any hybrid warfare, which has a whole repertoire of methods. These other"12. subversive instruments are being used against Ukraine, against pro-Western former Soviet republics, and against the West in This hybrid warfare is organised and controlled mainly by the general. Thanks to discoveries by a Ukrainian group of hackers presidential administration in Moscow. Detailed information about in the correspondence of Vladislav Surkov, a high-ranking the operational side of this activity was revealed by the e-mails of official of the Russian presidency, we have learned about the President Putin's personal adviser Vladislav Surkov13, methods of influencing foreign countries. These methods include "intercepted" by the Ukrainian hacker group "Cyber Alliance" in media, soft power and PR, as well as economic pressure, protests, 2016 and 2017. He has long been the ideologue of Russia's and military actions3. Russian tools in Western Europe include domestic policy and is considered the creator of the concept of espionage, information warfare, cyberattacks, influence on "guided democracy". As the chief ideologue and "father of Russian elections, and the assassination of opponents of the regime, such PR" in the decades since 2000, he was considered the second most as former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko and the poisoning of influential man in the country. He placed the leading Russian Sergei Skripal in 20184. media under state control. After 2014, Surkov was also Putin's personal adviser on the occupied territories of Ukraine and Russia's leadership is experiencing an ongoing Cold War, as Georgia. The Chechen-born political expert is believed to be the President Vladimir Putin emphasized in his speech to Parliament organiser of the invasion of eastern Ukraine. He personally in 20145. The conflict in Ukraine has served as a spark to inflame monitored the separatists over the phone, as documented by new tensions with Western Europe over the Kremlin's conflict Surkov's photo of fighters from Donbas14. As an "architect of with international law. In order to steer public opinion abroad Russian policy in Ukraine," he participated in the Normandy towards its interpretation of these events, a global media Format talks and accompanied Putin on visits to Western Europe, offensive by Sputnik International and RT was launched6. By although he was on the list of people subjected to US and EU examining this conflict, it became clear how Russia uses sanctions15. information and the media as weapons. Russia assesses Ukraine's association with the EU and cooperation with NATO as strongly The leak of emails from Surkov and his associates became known undesirable. In the eyes of the Russian government, the United as the "Surkov Leaks". The authenticity of these emails has been States and its allies have pursued a policy of separating Ukraine confirmed by their recipients and verified by the Digital Forensic and other post-Soviet republics from Russia and placing the Research Lab of the American think tank Atlantic Council16. This region under American influence. Just as the United States once hybrid warfare is related to the notorious "covert operations" of wanted the destruction of the Soviet Union, now they want the political military action during the Soviet era. These targeted disintegration of Russia, Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the operations are the KGB's attempts to discredit the enemy in the Russian Security Council, told Ruskaya Gazeta. Political changes eyes of the international community. Disinformation was already in Ukraine are being interpreted as a "coup" with US support, said used in Soviet times; the use of modern technologies is the only Patrushev in October 20147. novelty. The leaked e-mails show in detail the project to destabilise Ukraine: Russian military intelligence officers, the GRU, and local Political decision makers in Russia have discussed strategies for pro-Russian forces are brought into position. With the help of the this new phase of the information war since early 2013. The Chief media, provocateurs, paid protesters, and violent actions, the entire of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, spoke about the growing south-eastern part of the country was destabilised. The aim was the importance of non-military means, "which in many cases are Balkanization of Ukraine by its disintegration into many territories. more effective than military means". They are complemented by Over time, only two "people's republics", namely Luhansk and undercover military operations such as intelligence operations, Donetsk in Donbass, remained under Russian control17. special operations, and exploiting the proclivity to protest in the While Surkov conducted the hybrid war in Ukraine and Georgia, population8. The media occupy a particularly important place another confidant of Putin's presidential administration, Alexei among non-military means. Abroad, the news are aimed Gromov, worked to control the major national media, in particular, 5 Russian media in Germany the state television channels. Gromov has the reputation of being to report on them. Unwanted topics are ignored. Inside the country, the "Head of Russian State Propaganda"18. His career began as a journalistic coverage by state media is directed mainly against the diplomat and head of the presidential office of the first Russian opposition and dissidents. They are discredited through deliberate president, Boris Yeltsin. He later became Putin's spokesperson fake news22. and participated in the destruction of the media holdings of the Gromov is also a key figure in international reporting. He founded oligarchs who were criticizing the Kremlin regime. Since 2008, the foreign channel RT in 2005, together with the then-Minister of he has been the first deputy head of the presidential television Information Mikhail Lesin and directed that Margarita Simonyan administration and of the executive branch’s media service. be editor-in-chief of RT and Rossiya Segodnya. Simonyan also Gromov is known for his statement: "Things don't work out if participates in the weekly meetings at the Kremlin and is an you don't do everything yourself"19. The heads of the state and important confidant of Gromov. The editor-in-chief, her husband, (formally) private televisions, as well as the editors-in-chief of and her sister lead important PR projects for the Russian state. the national newspapers, such as "Kommersant", meet every Gromov, like Surkov, is on the EU's sanctions list. The EU Thursday in Gromov's office, according to a former participant document that justifies this states: "As the first deputy head of the in these meetings who spoke to the Russian platform for presidential administration, he is responsible for instructing the investigative journalism, "Project"20.