German politicians are being targeted with fabricated criminal accusations and counterfeit news reports as a coordinated influence operation intensifies ahead of upcoming state elections. The activity has been linked to Operation Matryoshka, a long-running Russia-linked disinformation network that disguises invented stories as reporting from established media organizations.
The latest campaign is particularly focused on political events scheduled for 2026, including the September 6 state election in Saxony-Anhalt. Operation Matryoshka was also active around Germany’s 2025 federal election, but researchers monitoring the network have documented a renewed wave of German-language material ahead of this year’s votes.
Rather than relying solely on anonymous political posts, the operators manufacture content intended to look like professional journalism. Videos, images and fake newspaper pages reproduce visual elements associated with recognized media organizations, allowing false allegations to appear as though they originated from legitimate newsrooms. German broadcaster ARD and the BBC are among the brands reportedly impersonated by the campaign.
Antibot4Navalny, an anonymous research group that tracks Russian online influence operations, helped identify the activity. The name Matryoshka refers to Russian nesting dolls and reflects the network’s layered distribution system. Material can initially appear through one account before additional accounts and automated profiles begin circulating it elsewhere.
Some of the fabricated stories have made serious accusations against individual German politicians. Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner was falsely connected to the supposed murder of a professional tennis player. The narrative incorporated a genuine detail from Wegner’s life, his association with tennis, to make an invented allegation appear more believable. No corresponding disappearance of the supposed victim had been reported.
Eric Stehr, a Left Party candidate, has been another target. Different versions of fabricated stories accused him of killing his grandmother, committing a murder motivated by jealousy, and participating in secret sex parties. Stehr publicly described some of the contradictory accusations made against him, illustrating how the operation can produce multiple narratives involving the same person rather than maintaining one consistent story.
The false reports do not necessarily remain confined to the accounts where they first appear. Material associated with the campaign has been placed on pro-Russian websites and Telegram before reaching larger social platforms. The Pravda network has reportedly been used within this distribution system, while X, TikTok and Bluesky provide additional channels for spreading the content to wider audiences.
German security authorities believe the broader activity is connected to Russia, according to reporting based on security-service assessments. However, Operation Matryoshka has not been conclusively attributed publicly to a particular Russian government agency, making that distinction important when describing who ultimately controls the operation.
Researchers have tracked Matryoshka activity since at least 2023. Its targets have extended beyond German politics and have included elections in other countries and major international events. In Germany, the current material has concentrated on politicians considered critical of Moscow, while parties advocating closer relations with Russia have reportedly received different treatment.
The renewed activity comes as Saxony-Anhalt approaches an important state election on September 6. German authorities have said they are aware of attempts to use disinformation to influence the political environment surrounding elections.
Germany has also expanded its institutional response to foreign interference. A Joint Defence Centre for Hybrid Threats was established in June, including work dedicated to disinformation and foreign influence. The latest Matryoshka activity now gives German authorities another active campaign to track as voters prepare for the country’s upcoming regional elections.