Claudia Roth as Minister of State: Fake profile causes confusion

Claudia Roth is to become Minister of State: Since this plan was known, the Green politician has been in the focus again. And once again a fake profile appears – which is remarkably successful.

Within a few hours, the @CRothKultur profile on Twitter collects thousands of subscribers. These include the German Cultural Council, politicians and journalists. The designated Minister of State for Culture is greeted with friendly words and many negative comments in the German Twitter community.

The catch: this is exactly what is missing. The profile has not been verified as authentic by a blue checkmark assigned by Twitter – and it has not been created by Claudia Roth or her team. It is a fake; by no means the first. The previous Vice President of the Bundestag has been confronted with misleading allegations, insults and fabricated quotes for years. Fake Twitter accounts have also appeared several times, for example the profile @greenclaudia appeared as Roth for several years, and in 2017 a remarkably professional account appeared that even announced TV appearances on behalf of the politician. Other false Twitter profiles are currently active, including one with the name @ CR0thKultur.

The purpose of such accounts: to create confusion and spread fake quotes. A fake profile, for example, tweets something – and the alleged quote is then scandalized via a screenshot. This strategy even went so far as to invent an alleged Green politician who posted radical statements on social media. But this politician doesn’t even exist – the quotations have been pushed back to the Greens over and over again.

Fakes repeat themselves

Wrong Roth quotes have been around for years. In 2017, Roth warned Erika Steinbach, for example, who had spread a fabricated statement. This alleged quote had already been marked as a forgery several times and can be traced back to 2010.

In 2018, Roth was alleged to have called for an alcohol ban in Germany during the Islamic month of fasting. The former CDU member Steinbach also spread this and demanded that Roth should “finally wear a burqa and convert”. In fact, the alleged demand was fictitious – as an alleged satire.

Thumbs down for Seehofer?

But Roth was also attacked in the larger media on the basis of misleading representations. For example, in 2020 she is said to have violated her duty of neutrality as Vice President of the Bundestag with a “thumbs-down” gesture. Critics accused her of using this symbol to comment on Interior Minister Horst Seehofer’s speech. A corresponding photo provided the supposed evidence.

In fact, Roth had signaled to the CDU / CSU parliamentary group that Seehofer was clearly exceeding his speaking time and that these minutes would be deducted from other speeches. This is evident from video recordings. The example clearly shows that photos must always be viewed and evaluated in their context.

Turning around as an alleged Nazi method

There was a similar case in 2018 when Roth was even accused of Nazi methods for demonstratively turning away during a speech by Alice Weidel. Roth herself said that she turned around briefly during the speech to speak to another MP. The present video recordings from the plenary hall confirmed this representation: On the existing settings during the Weidel speech, Roth sits with his face towards the lectern.

A short shot shows Roth talking to another member of parliament, half-turned, and then turning away – for a moment, as she emphasizes. It is the moment that subsequently circulates thousands of times as a screenshot on social networks. In all other shots, Roth looks in the direction of Weidel – but that is not mentioned, but rather gives the impression that Roth demonstratively turned away for a longer period or even during the entire speech.

“Depressing”

The list of misleading representations, fake profiles and quotes is long, but thousands of users immediately followed the alleged Twitter profile of the designated Minister of State for Culture. Of the WDR journalist Dennis Horn described it as “depressing” that so many fell for the fake.

In fact, an important indicator for an authentic profile is how many well-known users follow an account. Having a large number of followers who themselves have a relevant reach increases the credibility of an account. In response to inquiries, the Roth office immediately stated that the profile was not an authentic one. Twitter has now also blocked it.

The example shows how quickly people can get misinformation, says the publicist Pia Lamberty in an interview with ARD fact finder. Often “this has less to do with the deliberate sharing of false information or a lack of knowledge than with inattention”.

“Double enemy image”

The election campaign for the federal elections also showed that the Greens, and especially women politicians, are particularly often the target of disinformation campaigns, the expert emphasizes. “On the one hand, the Greens and what they stand for are an enemy of right-wing populist and right-wing extremist forces,” explains Lamberty, “on the other hand, women are particularly frequently attacked”. A self-confident woman and politician from the Greens therefore represents a double enemy.

The expert also thinks “that the attacks against the Greens could increase in the future because they now have government responsibility and at the same time symbolize the climate protection measures hated by right-wing populists and conspiracy ideologues”.