A full version of this report is available through NewsGuard’s Reality Check.
By Leonie Pfaller, Roberta Schmid, and McKenzie Sadeghi | Published on Jan. 23, 2025
A network of 102 AI-generated German-language websites, apparently linked to U.S. fugitive turned Kremlin propagandist John Mark Dougan, is spreading disinformation and amplifying pro-Russian narratives ahead of Germany’s Feb. 23, 2025, snap elections, a joint analysis by NewsGuard and German non-profit investigative newsroom Correctiv found.
The first site in the network was registered as early as July 2024, but the network started expanding significantly after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Nov. 6, 2024, announced the break-up of Germany’s governing coalition, spurring the upcoming elections.
Similar to Dougan’s U.S. network of 171 sites, which is no longer active, the German domains mimic authentic local and national German news outlets, with some carrying names of historic, now defunct regional newspapers such as “Berliner Tageblatt” and “Hamburger Anzeiger.” The network, which was first identified by Correctiv and has not been previously reported, comprises 102 websites.