[Skybird]

Part of the new warfare Russia wages against the West - since many years, and against Europe and America alike. FCOUS writes:
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AfD shares manipulated Baerbock video - detail exposes Kremlin propaganda

Foreign Minister Baerbock is facing criticism following a panel discussion. Videos are circulating on social networks showing alleged statements by Baerbock, which subsequently caused a stir. But now it comes out: the sentences Baerbock have not fallen so, the videos were manipulated.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) came under fire after a panel discussion in Prague because she had pledged her support for Ukraine - regardless of the opinion of her electorate in Germany. Baerbock was subsequently accused of treason for allegedly favoring the Ukrainian population over her own. On Twitter, #BaerbockRuecktritt was one of the most used hashtags in Germany on Thursday. However, a Russian disinformation campaign is apparently behind the video.

In the viral video, the German foreign minister explains her stance on sanctions against Russia as well as support for Ukraine. For example, Baerbock says that she will "stand by the Ukrainians as long as they need it" - and that she also wants to keep her promise, "no matter what my German voters say." Furthermore, Baerbock states that she will not stop the sanctions in the winter, even if the Germans demonstrate because of high energy bills.

Calls for Baerbock's resignation

The AfD in particular made a fuss about Baerbock's statement. AfD leader Alice Weidel, for example, wrote on Twitter, "The resignation of the foreign minister is overdue. Anyone who explicitly whistles on the interests of voters in Germany no longer has any business in a ministerial office." In general, the entire traffic light coalition is "deliberately working against the people in our country," Weidel said.

Harsh criticism also came from other parties: left-wing politician Sevim Dagdelen wrote on Twitter of Baerbock's alleged: "Ukraine first, citizens no matter contempt." Sahra Wagenknecht of the Left Party, called Baerbock a "danger to our country" on Twitter. Baerbock was equally criticized by CDU politicians.

Russian disinformation campaign

However, according to "Spiegel" research, a Russian disinformation campaign is said to be behind the video: The short excerpt was first posted by accounts close to the Kremlin and edited together to distort the meaning. Accounts close to the Kremlin or partly state-run Russian actors are said to have started the campaign by abbreviated quotes and to have fueled it again and again, according to an analysis of the "Disinformation Situation Center", which is available to "Der Spiegel".

Accounts close to the Kremlin are said to have disseminated doctored video

The first quote from the event was allegedly posted on Telegram by state news agency Ria Novosti, according to Der Spiegel. Four minutes later, the quote was again doctored and posted by a Telegram channel belonging to state media Sputnik, it said.

Four hours later, the Telegram channel "Russian American Daily" allegedly showed the edited video, "Spiegel" writes. The members of the channel had already been interrogated by the FBI in the past on suspicion of spying for Russia, "Spiegel" added. The channel frequently posts propaganda about the war in Ukraine and is said to have a proximity to the Kremlin.

With distorted words such as "will put Ukraine first, no matter what German voters think," the video was distributed. The words "in the first place" do not even appear in Baerbock's speech. Smaller, anonymous accounts are said to have subsequently redistributed the video in German, according to Der Spiegel.

Weidel shares Baerbock video - watermark exposes Kremlin propaganda

Weidel was one of the first to share the video. Explosive: the video contained a watermark of the "Russian American Daily" channel. It was clicked 140,000 times on Weidel's Facebook profile alone, and another 115,000 times on the official AfD account on Facebook. Here, too, the video was used with the watermark of the account close to the Kremlin. Other AfD politicians shared the video and also called for Baerbock's resignation.

German media translated quotes incorrectly

In addition, German media partially translated Baerbock's English sentences incorrectly. "Die Welt," for example, published an article with the headline, "Government stands by Ukraine, no matter what German voters think." In the video, however, Baerbock speaks exclusively of her electorate, the Green voters. According to "Spiegel," the "Welt" article was shared thousands of times, and only after hours was the headline corrected.

No deepfake video

It is true that the video and audio material was not manipulated with the help of software. However, Baerbock's statements were edited in such a way that the content of what was said was distorted. The foreign minister did indeed utter the sentences that appear in the short version, but relevant statements were omitted. A 2 minute and 13 second speech ultimately became a 54 second video.

For example, Baerbock says on the panel that fortunately in democracy there is the possibility that her constituents will punish her if they see it differently. She also talks about the need for all of Europe to find good solutions to balance the social effects of Russia's war of aggression and the energy crisis.

Greens popular target for Russian disinformation campaigns

Felix Kartte, an expert at Reset, an initiative that promotes digital democracy, told Der Spiegel, "It was to be expected that Russian disinformation would target top Green officials in particular." Already during the Bundestag election campaign, he said, the Greens, and among them chancellor candidate Baerbock in particular, had been a popular target of disinformation campaigns.

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