Lack of Investigation into Bot Network's Election Manipulation Raises Concerns

A significant bot network attempted to influence the recent Bundestag election campaign in February by promoting the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Despite the alarming nature of this activity, the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) has dismissed the need for a detailed investigation.

According to reports, around 2,500 bots, categorized as 'inauthentic accounts,' were actively disseminating messages that included direct calls to support the AfD and praise for its leader, Alice Weidel, while also spreading negativity against other democratic parties. This network had been operational for several months prior to the elections and had previously attempted to sway the Brandenburg state election campaign.

The discovery of this bot network was made by data analysts from the Rostock-based company Somtxt, and despite the alarming findings, the BMI showed little interest in pursuing the matter further. When asked about their awareness of the bot network, the ministry declined to provide a timeline or details on when they first learned about it, stating that the network did not warrant a thorough examination.

The BMI justified its stance by claiming that the accounts had a relatively limited reach. This reasoning, however, is challenged by the fact that the ministry lacks comprehensive knowledge of the situation, as they have not requested the complete list of the bot accounts from Somtxt.

Additionally, the information provided by the media was deemed insufficient by the BMI for conducting a meaningful investigation. This perspective has drawn sharp criticism from political figures such as Konstantin von Notz, the deputy chair of the Green parliamentary group. He expressed his dismay over the government's lack of adequate engagement with the issue, emphasizing that the responses from the BMI demonstrate a troubling absence of political will to confront the manipulation attempts seriously.

Despite acknowledging that Russian entities conducted covert operations to influence the election, the BMI has reiterated its decision not to pursue leads or engage with platform operators to counteract these networks. Von Notz has called for an end to this apparent disinterest and the ongoing inertia in addressing significant security issues related to election integrity.

While the BMI admits to several instances of Russian influence campaigns, it insists that these attempts typically had low visibility, although some cases did achieve considerable reach, particularly close to the election date. The lack of a cohesive strategy from the German government to tackle misinformation and external influence campaigns continues to be a pressing concern, as calls for a coordinated response have gone unheeded.