A Russian influence campaign gets its audience from people warning about it

Forged reports bearing the branding of ARD, Deutsche Welle and other outlets have targeted Germany’s state elections. But CORRECTIV’s investigation finds little genuine audience for many Matrjoschka posts, despite apparently impressive view counts.

The operators also contact journalists and fact-checkers to request scrutiny of the false material they have just circulated. Researchers and Germany’s interior ministry interpret that as an attempt to generate coverage. A warning about a supposedly pervasive campaign can supply the reach the campaign never earned on its own.

Some posts appear in languages that make little sense for the alleged target audience. That is more intelligible if the objective is to provoke coverage across multiple media markets.

The finding does not establish that foreign influence operations are harmless. It separates the existence of an operation from evidence of its reach, and identifies the danger of turning a small, conspicuous manipulation attempt into a much larger news event.