A CORRECTIV investigation has uncovered that a Russian disinformation campaign established around 100 fake websites ahead of Germany’s general election. Their purpose: to influence the election campaign due to take place in February. In several cases, these sites have already been used to discredit German politicians.

The spread of fake websites by the Russian disinformation campaign Doppelganger has largely been stopped. The people behind the campaign had been using a Ukrainian service provider – which quickly blocked the Russian customer after a CORRECTIV inquiry. Doppelganger’s digital footprints meanwhile lead directly to the Ministry of Defense in Moscow.

For two years, Russia has been spreading its propaganda using cloned websites of Western media outlets. The campaign known as "Doppelganger" hasn’t been stopped yet – despite being sanctioned by the EU and US. A CORRECTIV investigation found that European companies are part of the internet infrastructure that keeps the campaign running.

Since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has stepped up disinformation and hacking campaigns against the West. A CORRECTIV investigation shows how two brothers from Moldova provide the technology needed for these attacks.

A network of fake accounts on Facebook is agitating against Ukraine and has been sharing fake pro-Russian articles and websites for months. Politicians of the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland seem to also benefit: the network ran ads to promote content by the party’s politicians.

Despite Facebook’s supposed takedown last year, a pro-Russian disinformation campaign continues to be active on the social-media platform. It is promoting spoofed news and government websites, as well as content by politicians of Germany’s far-right AfD party.