Wiesbaden (dpa/lhe) - Hesse's Interior Minister Peter Beuth (CDU) has warned of targeted disinformation campaigns by pro-Russian actors in connection with the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Targeted false reports are not only rampant in Russia, but also on German-language Internet portals, the minister explained before the traditional autumn talks of the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution. On Tuesday evening, experts in Wiesbaden want to discuss how disinformation endangers free democracy under the motto "Attack on the Truth".
False reports about the war mixed with different conspiracy stories about the corona pandemic, for example, as Beuth explained. "Behind the targeted fake news, an uncomfortable mix of pro-Russian actors, extremists, Reich citizens, corona deniers and conspiracy theorists has formed." What these people have in common is that they want to damage the cohesion of society with their crude conspiracy stories and weaken democracy, the minister warned.
It is important that the security authorities keep an eye on these disinformation campaigns and expose them as lies. The minister referred to a prevention network against conspiracy stories and disinformation that has existed in Hesse since May 2022. Among other things, it provides information on the background of such conspiracy stories and arranges contacts for counseling services.
