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The demonstrations against right-wing extremism are among the largest protest movements in years. This doesn’t suit those affected. They are trying to discredit the “Correctiv” research and the demonstrators.
“We are the people” – that’s how the AfD sees itself and used the slogan on posters before state elections. What doesn’t fit so well into the worldview: the demonstrations against right-wing extremism with sometimes hundreds of thousands of participants in the past few weeks, triggered by “Correctiv” research about a secret meeting with right-wing extremists, at which AfD politicians were also present.
No wonder, then, that other views on the mass protests are circulating in right-wing populist and right-wing extremist circles. Three researchers from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue Germany (ISD) examined delegitimization strategies in so-called alternative media and various Telegram channels qualitative short analysis looked at more closely.
“The success of the demos against right-wing extremism has naturally put these groups in trouble,” says Solveig Barth, Project Coordinator at the ISD. “That’s why their goal is to put themselves back in the right light and portray themselves as the true protectors of democracy.”
Discrediting by “Correctiv”
In total, the researchers identified seven argumentation patterns that attempt to downplay the importance of the demos. On the one hand, the report by “Correctiv”, the authors of the report and the entire media company itself are being discredited. “An attempt was made to create a certain degree of uncertainty regarding the credibility of the research and ‘Correctiv’,” says Barth.
The content of the research, for example, is described as a “populist stunt” and there is talk of a “witch hunt”. “Correctiv” is state-funded and a “government propaganda tool.” The previous financial support of the Open Society Foundation was also discussed. The reason: The group of foundations was founded by the American George Soros, who has been the target of anti-Semitic conspiracy stories for a long time.
The payments made by the Open Society Foundation were never secret. “Correctiv” has been disclosing its finances for years. Most recently, the Open Society Foundation donated around 70,000 euros in 2021, significantly less than other organizations. A large portion of “Correctiv’s” income comes from private supporters.
In connection with the authors of the “Correctiv” report, among other things, old quotes from them were brought back, some of them taken out of context, said Barth. “In order to generally discredit the report, statements from the participants in this secret meeting were often spread, which of course downplayed the explosiveness.”
Demos allegedly orchestrated by the state
Not only “Correctiv” itself is portrayed as an instrument of the government in the right-wing populist and right-wing extremist “alternative media” and Telegram channels, but also the demonstrators. According to the analysis, the demos are vilified as being orchestrated by the state, and the number of participants is also questioned.
The most famous example of this is the accusation of manipulation by Thuringia’s AfD parliamentary group leader Björn Höcke. He had claimed that, among other things, an image of the demonstration in Hamburg had been edited in the media to make the crowd appear larger than it actually was. However, this accusation was false; the images shared by Höcke were only images from two different perspectives.
In addition, the number of participants in the demonstration in Hamburg was significantly underestimated, as it later turned out. The Hamburg interior authorities are now officially talking about 180,000 participants; on the day of the demo, the police only estimated around 50,000.
Some posts also claimed that participants in the demos received a fee for their presence. An advertisement on a job portal looking for extras for a demonstration was cited as supposed evidence. However, this ad was from 2022 and extras were wanted for a video recording. The job portal itself also made it clearthat this advertisement has “no connection to the demonstrations in Hamburg”.
“Distraction from the origin of the demos”
As a further narrative to delegitimize the demos, the researchers have identified supposedly comprehensive state control that portrays the protests and their participants as anti-democratic. The government and the ‘civil society’ it organizes, including the tax-financed NGOs, are bringing many people onto the streets with the support of the public broadcasters and other good media, it says in one article. An AfD politician spoke at a press conference that public servants had been called to the demonstrations.
An AfD politician shared a picture on Instagram with the words that North Rhine-Westphalia’s school minister Dorothee Feller (CDU) was showing her “anti-democratic face”. Feller had previously encouraged teachers to take part in the demonstrations.
These and other contributions, for example in which there is talk of a “red-green inquisition”, attempt to portray the demos as anti-democratic, says Barth. “This is intended to distract from one’s own responsibility and the actual origin of the demonstrations against the right, which were clearly directed against the remigration plans that were made public at the conference in Potsdam evaluated by ‘Correctiv’.”
Compare with GDR and National Socialism
From the researchers’ point of view, the numerous GDR and Nazi comparisons that they found in the articles examined also play an important role. In the context of schools that encourage their students to take part in the demonstrations, one article says: “This is political indoctrination and is reminiscent of the darkest times in German history.”
In a post on Telegram, an image of a demonstration against right-wing extremism was compared with a photo of Nazi marches in Berlin from 1933. Supposed parallels are also drawn with the GDR, where there were actually politically binding demonstrations.
Instrumentalization the farmers’ protests
According to the analysis, the articles examined also attempted to play off the farmers’ protests and the demonstrations against right-wing extremism against each other. The conspiracy story was spread that the traffic light government wanted to distract from the farmers’ protests through the staged demonstrations. The farmers’ protests had already started in December 2023 and are still ongoing. The “Correctiv” report appeared on January 10th.
“Attempts are being made to exploit the farmers’ protests in order to make themselves look better,” says Barth. “It is claimed, for example, that the farmers’ protests are being neglected because of the demonstrations against right-wing extremism.” In one article, for example, it is written about a secret meeting delivered “as if on order” by the federal government as a pretext to distract from the farmers’ protests with “imagined rights”.
In other contributions, the demos are seen as a pretext to distract from the fact that “other topics charged with xenophobic attitudes require greater attention,” says Barth.
Kremlin supports disinformation
Kremlin-affiliated accounts, in turn, would give these different narratives greater reach, according to the researchers’ analysis. Russian state media such as RT DE, among others, spread the views further and thereby increased their reach. A give and take, says Barth. Because: “The Kremlin relies on these groups in Germany to multiply its own narratives.” Russia is also interested in dividing society.
Overall, all the attempts at delegitimization were aimed at weakening the significance of the demonstrations and the “Correctiv” research, says Barth. “The people who normally present themselves as the middle of society were surprised by these huge demonstrations and suddenly can no longer sell the argument as before.” Therefore, from their point of view, it is very helpful to present everything as a big production, in which left-wing extremists are mainly involved.