A widely shared video claiming to show the destruction of AfD ballots in Berlin has been debunked by election officials and fact-checkers as a fabrication.
Key facts
- •Berlin's state returning officer, Stephan Bröchler, ruled out that the video involves actual Berlin election documents.
- •The video lacks the official signed voter declaration required for a valid mail-in ballot in Berlin.
- •DW Fact Check found over 3.2 million views across more than 15 accounts sharing the footage.
- •Researchers linked the video's spread to the 'Storm-1516' influence operation, which has been attributed to Russia.
- •Similar false claims regarding the destruction of AfD ballots were debunked by DW Fact Check ahead of the September 6 election in Saxony-Anhalt.
A video circulating on social media ahead of Berlin's September 20 state and district elections falsely claims to show a man destroying postal ballots cast for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Berlin's state returning officer, Stephan Bröchler, confirmed that the documents and envelopes shown in the footage are not authentic election materials. The video has been linked by researchers to coordinated influence operations.
By the numbers
Inconsistencies in the Footage
Berlin election authorities noted several discrepancies between the video and official voting procedures. The video shows a person using a red envelope and a white envelope, which do not correspond to the official postal voting package. Additionally, the required signed voter declaration is missing, and the ballot papers shown do not match the official grey-and-blue and orange ballots used in the election. Bröchler also stated that the use of Berlin's coat of arms on ballot bins in the video is not a practice used by local election authorities.
Coordinated Dissemination
DW Fact Check identified more than 15 accounts sharing the video with nearly identical captions, accumulating over 3.2 million views. Many of these accounts exhibited signs of inauthentic behavior, such as rapid follower growth and frequent username changes. Researchers from the organization Debunk and the Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (CeMAS) have linked the dissemination of such content to the 'Storm-1516' influence operation, which German authorities have previously attributed to Russia.
Timeline
- September 6An election took place in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
- September 18DW Fact Check reviewed a post that had received 327,000 views.
- September 20Berlin held its state and district elections.
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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by Deutsche Welle Politics.
