Russian Disinformation Campaign Uncovered Targeting German Postal Voting with Fake Videos

Cyber & Information WarfareInformation OperationsPropaganda & disinformation campaigns

Aggressor

Summary

German authorities uncovered a Russian-linked disinformation campaign spreading fake videos about postal vote manipulations ahead of the 2025 Bundestag election.

In February 2025, German security agencies detected a deliberate pro-Russian disinformation effort targeted at the Bundestag 2025 election's postal voting process. In Hamburg and Leipzig, fake videos circulated on social media purporting to show manipulated postal votes and destruction of ballots marked for the AfD party. The videos were quickly identified as fakes due to inconsistencies with official voting documents, including unusual envelope colors and markings. The disinformation campaign is attributed to the online pro-Russian group 'Storm-1516,' previously linked to influence operations in the US and Germany. Hamburg election officials condemned the videos as a perfidious attempt to undermine democratic trust, triggering ongoing investigations by the police state protection services. Officials urged the public to rely on official sources and remain vigilant against fake electoral content.

Classification

Confidence: High

Classified as aggressor because the article details a specific Russian pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign targeting the German Bundestag election with manipulated videos. The signal type is HYBRID_SIGNAL reflecting hostile influence operations affecting democratic processes.

Source URL

https://tagesschau.de/inland/bundestagswahl/desinformation-russland-briefwahl-100.html

Open source

Provenance

Publisher: extension
Submitted: Apr 28, 2026, 13:45 UTC
Last updated: Nov 10, 2026, 02:40 UTC
Event time: Feb 21, 2025, 15:40 UTC

Published as a hybrid-warfare signal with a public source and reviewer-approved assessment bands. See the methodology for how records are assessed.

Raw record

{
  "id": "af59667a-339a-4975-b789-d35aec690bf5",
  "url": "https://tagesschau.de/inland/bundestagswahl/desinformation-russland-briefwahl-100.html",
  "source": "extension",
  "status": "approved",
  "category": "Cyber & Information Warfare",
  "subcategory": "Information Operations",
  "incident_type": "Propaganda & disinformation campaigns",
  "country": "Germany",
  "source_reliability": "B",
  "info_credibility": "3",
  "tags": [
    "Russian disinformation",
    "Bundestag 2025",
    "postal voting",
    "Storm-1516",
    "election interference",
    "fake videos",
    "AfD"
  ],
  "nodes": [
    "Node 2: 5th Column"
  ],
  "countries": [
    "Germany"
  ],
  "where_text": "Cyberspace",
  "headline": "Russian Disinformation Campaign Uncovered Targeting German Postal Voting with Fake Videos",
  "description": "German security authorities uncovered a Russian pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign producing manipulated videos claiming irregularities in the 2025 Bundestag postal vote. The campaign, linked to the pro-Russian group \"Storm-1516,\" spread fake videos in social media showing purported destruction of postal votes favoring the AfD party in Hamburg and falsified voting documents in Leipzig. Authorities quickly verified and debunked the videos, stating discrepancies in envelope color, labeling, and ballot paper folding. The Hamburg police's state protection is investigating, and officials warn these are attempts to delegitimize democratic elections.",
  "summary_short": "German authorities uncovered a Russian-linked disinformation campaign spreading fake videos about postal vote manipulations ahead of the 2025 Bundestag election.",
  "summary_extended": "In February 2025, German security agencies detected a deliberate pro-Russian disinformation effort targeted at the Bundestag 2025 election's postal voting process. In Hamburg and Leipzig, fake videos circulated on social media purporting to show manipulated postal votes and destruction of ballots marked for the AfD party. The videos were quickly identified as fakes due to inconsistencies with official voting documents, including unusual envelope colors and markings. The disinformation campaign is attributed to the online pro-Russian group 'Storm-1516,' previously linked to influence operations in the US and Germany. Hamburg election officials condemned the videos as a perfidious attempt to undermine democratic trust, triggering ongoing investigations by the police state protection services. Officials urged the public to rely on official sources and remain vigilant against fake electoral content.",
  "actor_primary": "Storm-1516",
  "target_primary": null,
  "location_text": "Hamburg and Leipzig",
  "location_region": null,
  "location_coordinates_lat": 53.5511,
  "location_coordinates_lon": 9.9937,
  "location_precision": "Approximate",
  "is_aggressor_signal": true,
  "signal_type": "HYBRID_SIGNAL",
  "is_hybrid_war_signal": true,
  "classification_complete": true,
  "hybrid_signal_complete": true,
  "classification_confidence": "High",
  "classification_rationale": "Classified as aggressor because the article details a specific Russian pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign targeting the German Bundestag election with manipulated videos. The signal type is HYBRID_SIGNAL reflecting hostile influence operations affecting democratic processes.",
  "event_time_utc": "2025-02-21T15:40:00.000Z",
  "end_time_utc": null,
  "event_time_confidence": "exact",
  "created_at": "2026-04-28T13:45:00.900Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-10T02:40:40.225Z",
  "reliability_band": "strong",
  "location_precision_band": "approximate",
  "time_precision_band": "exact",
  "severity_band": "moderate",
  "attribution_confidence_band": "high",
  "attribution_basis": "single_source"
}

Public assessmentReliability: StrongSeverity: ModerateAttribution: HighSingle sourceTime: ExactLocation: Approximate

Source reliability

Info credibility

Event time

Feb 21, 2025, 15:40 UTC

Event time confidence

exact

Location

Hamburg and Leipzig

Primary actor

Storm-1516

Country

Germany

Countries

Germany

Tags

Russian disinformation, Bundestag 2025, postal voting, Storm-1516, election interference, fake videos, AfD

Nodes

Node 2: 5th Column

Loading signal...

{ "id": "af59667a-339a-4975-b789-d35aec690bf5", "url": "https://tagesschau.de/inland/bundestagswahl/desinformation-russland-briefwahl-100.html", "source": "extension", "status": "approved", "category": "Cyber & Information Warfare", "subcategory": "Information Operations", "incident_type": "Propaganda & disinformation campaigns", "country": "Germany", "source_reliability": "B", "info_credibility": "3", "tags": [ "Russian disinformation", "Bundestag 2025", "postal voting", "Storm-1516", "election interference", "fake videos", "AfD" ], "nodes": [ "Node 2: 5th Column" ], "countries": [ "Germany" ], "where_text": "Cyberspace", "headline": "Russian Disinformation Campaign Uncovered Targeting German Postal Voting with Fake Videos", "description": "German security authorities uncovered a Russian pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign producing manipulated videos claiming irregularities in the 2025 Bundestag postal vote. The campaign, linked to the pro-Russian group \"Storm-1516,\" spread fake videos in social media showing purported destruction of postal votes favoring the AfD party in Hamburg and falsified voting documents in Leipzig. Authorities quickly verified and debunked the videos, stating discrepancies in envelope color, labeling, and ballot paper folding. The Hamburg police's state protection is investigating, and officials warn these are attempts to delegitimize democratic elections.", "summary_short": "German authorities uncovered a Russian-linked disinformation campaign spreading fake videos about postal vote manipulations ahead of the 2025 Bundestag election.", "summary_extended": "In February 2025, German security agencies detected a deliberate pro-Russian disinformation effort targeted at the Bundestag 2025 election's postal voting process. In Hamburg and Leipzig, fake videos circulated on social media purporting to show manipulated postal votes and destruction of ballots marked for the AfD party. The videos were quickly identified as fakes due to inconsistencies with official voting documents, including unusual envelope colors and markings. The disinformation campaign is attributed to the online pro-Russian group 'Storm-1516,' previously linked to influence operations in the US and Germany. Hamburg election officials condemned the videos as a perfidious attempt to undermine democratic trust, triggering ongoing investigations by the police state protection services. Officials urged the public to rely on official sources and remain vigilant against fake electoral content.", "actor_primary": "Storm-1516", "target_primary": null, "location_text": "Hamburg and Leipzig", "location_region": null, "location_coordinates_lat": 53.5511, "location_coordinates_lon": 9.9937, "location_precision": "Approximate", "is_aggressor_signal": true, "signal_type": "HYBRID_SIGNAL", "is_hybrid_war_signal": true, "classification_complete": true, "hybrid_signal_complete": true, "classification_confidence": "High", "classification_rationale": "Classified as aggressor because the article details a specific Russian pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign targeting the German Bundestag election with manipulated videos. The signal type is HYBRID_SIGNAL reflecting hostile influence operations affecting democratic processes.", "event_time_utc": "2025-02-21T15:40:00.000Z", "end_time_utc": null, "event_time_confidence": "exact", "created_at": "2026-04-28T13:45:00.900Z", "updated_at": "2026-11-10T02:40:40.225Z", "reliability_band": "strong", "location_precision_band": "approximate", "time_precision_band": "exact", "severity_band": "moderate", "attribution_confidence_band": "high", "attribution_basis": "single_source" }