The number of German residents who believe the propaganda statements of the Russian Federation has increased since April.
According to the survey of the Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (Cemas), in Germany over the past months, support for conspiracy narratives of the Russian Federation about the war against Ukraine has significantly increased. This is reported by DW.
In particular, according to the survey data, about 18 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, “is fighting against the world elite, which pulls the strings behind the scenes.” According to a previous survey conducted in April, this figure was 12 percent.
It is also reported that 12 percent of those surveyed believe another statement of Russian propaganda that “Ukraine, together with the United States, manages secret biolaboratories for the production of biological weapons.” According to a survey conducted in April, only 7 percent of respondents believed in such a statement by the Russian authorities.
According to Cemas, indicators of the influence of Russian propaganda have significant differences between the western and eastern lands of Germany. In particular, in the east of the country, every third respondent agreed with the statement about the Kremlin's “forced decision” to start a war after “prolonged provocations by NATO.” At the same time, in the west of the country, this indicator is 16 percent.
14 percent of respondents in the territory of the former GDR believe that the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine is designed to divert attention from the pandemic. In the West of Germany, 7 percent of respondents share this opinion.
At the same time, as sociologists note, support for pro-Kremlin and conspiracist claims is particularly high among voters of the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany party. According to the survey, almost half of them supported Kremlin propaganda claims that “Ukraine is part of the Russian Federation” and that Moscow was forced to start the war because of the threat from NATO. The sociologists also stated the high level of support for the Kremlin's propaganda among supporters of the Left Party.
“The crises of recent months can become an ideal breeding ground for conspiracy theories, which are supported both by right-wing extremists and by Russia,” said the head of Cemas, Pia Lamberti. .
The Cemas poll was conducted on October 3-11 among 2,228 people.
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