The Kremlin has intensified a coordinated campaign of hybrid attacks and digital disinformation to weaken German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, aiming to bolster the pro-Russian, far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

 

Putin’s trolls are weakening Merz to boost Russia-friendly far right

The Kremlin has intensified a coordinated campaign of hybrid attacks and digital disinformation to weaken German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, aiming to bolster the pro-Russian, far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

A detailed investigation by Politico highlights that as Chancellor Merz faces plummeting domestic popularity amidst a stagnant German economy, Vladimir Putin is leveraging overt economic pressure and covert online trolling to exploit these vulnerabilities. By doing so, Moscow hopes to elevate the AfD ahead of crucial state elections in eastern Germany, securing a strategic, Kremlin-friendly partner in Europe's largest economy.

 

The Strategy to Undermine Merz

Because Friedrich Merz is an outspoken supporter of Ukraine, he has long been placed on the Kremlin’s blacklist. The Russian influence campaign operates on two distinct levels:

• Overt Economic Pressure: Putin recently squeezed Berlin by halting Kazakh oil deliveries destined for eastern Germany through a Russian-controlled pipeline, exacerbating Germany's energy anxieties.
• Political Splitting: The Kremlin has attempted to fracture German public opinion by floating figures like former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder as a viable peace negotiator for the war in Ukraine.
• Targeted Character Assassination: Russian troll networks—including the notorious "Storm-1516" operation—have flooded platforms like X and Telegram with AI-generated profiles and fake news. These campaigns have spread fabricated stories, ranging from claims that Merz suffered a severe mental breakdown to absurd rumors that he shot a polar bear and its cubs.

Boosting the Far Right's Simple Narrative

The primary beneficiary of these operations is the AfD, which opposes military aid to Kyiv and strongly advocates for the lifting of sanctions. According to intelligence and political analysts, Russia's trolls reinforce a highly appealing, oversimplified narrative to anxious voters: that the key to reviving Germany's economy is simply restoring cheap energy imports from Moscow.

While organizations like Graphika and Germany's cyber watchdogs note that many of these bot-led operations struggle to gain deep traction among authentic audiences, the sheer scale of the automated campaigns highlights Russia's long-term goal. By systematically eroding trust in Chancellor Merz, the Kremlin aims to destabilize Germany's political landscape, fracture European consensus, and slowly pave a path to power for its far-right allies