Concerns over potential foreign election interference via social media disinformation are growing in Germany, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is currently polling in second place.
In December, Romania’s presidential election stirred similar fears when it was canceled amid allegations of Russian influence on TikTok, after ultranationalist Călin Georgescu unexpectedly won the first round.
These concerns have intensified with new evidence suggesting various types of foreign interference in Germany’s information ecosystem.
Further fueling the controversy is Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), who has publicly endorsed the AfD. According to German media, the German Parliament’s administrative body is now investigating whether Musk’s promotion of the AfD constitutes an illegal party donation.
Under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), major online platforms — defined as those with over 45 million monthly active EU users — are obligated to identify and mitigate risks associated with their services, including threats to electoral integrity.
To address these risks, a “stress test” was conducted on Friday, jointly hosted by the European Commission and Germany’s Federal Network Agency. The event brought together major platforms, including YouTube’s parent company Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram), Snapchat, TikTok, and X, as well as representatives from national authorities and civil society organizations.
“The exercise, known as a stress test, was based on several fictitious scenarios aiming to identify and reduce potential risks tied to elections, as outlined under the Digital Services Act,” the European Commission stated in a press release.
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