Category Germany

Manipulation: Massive German Protests Against Tanks for Ukraine

Russian media are claiming that mass demonstrations took place in Munich against German tank supplies to Ukraine. This is a manipulation of a demonstration against something completely different. In the video from the Munich demonstration, there is not a single sign against Germany sending tanks to Ukraine. Such demonstrations, organized by the group München steht auf, are held regularly in the Bavarian capital, usually on Wednesdays. München steht auf is a group that advocates for a world without weapons, they are against vaccinations, against measures for coronavirus containment, and against the German government. The protesters are so-called Querdenkers - "dissenters." During the coronavirus pandemic, they often disseminated fakes about COVID-19, "harmful vaccinations", chipping, 5G radiation, and airplane vapor trails conspiracy theories.

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Fake: Posters in Stuttgart Airport Calling on German Government Not to Send Tanks to…

A doctored image is being circulated online. According to the Stuttgart
Airport press service, the monitor featured in the doctored image only
broadcasts commercial advertisements or periodic notifications to
passengers about security checks and operational changes.

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Did Fuel Crisis Force Berliners to Chop Trees in Tiergarten?

Did Fuel Crisis Force Berliners to Chop Trees in Tiergarten?

Germans have not been chopping down trees in Tiergarten, Berlin, to meet energy needs. The claim is a misquote from a Bloomberg article about firewood demand.

While the article mentions that residents in the German capital did resort to felling parts of the park after the Second World War, the article clearly states that no such thing has happened today following Russia's shutdown of gas supplies to Europe.

The misquote, however, has been widely shared by pro-Russian accounts to support their narrative about the energy crisis in Europe.

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Manipulation: European Countries Reneging on Military Promises to Ukraine

A recent Politico article has given rise to Russian propagandist manipulation about European promises to Ukraine. The article makes no mention about discarded European promises and focuses on two problems: the current depletion of weapons stocks in those countries that have been actively helping Ukraine since the beginning of the war, and the delay in the transfer of weapons from Germany and France to Ukraine. Because of this, six European countries did not make new weapons commitments in July, however, they did not renounce their previous ones. A pause in military transfers is not a point of no return, it is just that, a pause, to be renewed in the future.

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Fake: European Parliament Finds No Evidence Russia Sponsors Terrorism

Russian media claims that the European Parliament found no evidence that Russia sponsors terrorism is the opinion of only one parliamentarian - Gunnar Beck, a member of the pro-Russian Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany) party. Beck however did not say anything about the European Parliament and its decisions regarding Russia and terrorism.

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Manipulation: Gazprom Cannot Supply More Gas Because of Russia Sanctions

Sanctions and Siemens turbine "technical problems" are not an impediment to the normal operation of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. The significant reduction in Russian gas supplies to Europe and Germany in particular, happened for political reasons and not because the turbine hasn't been repaired, as Russia claims. The Russian Federation continues to use its energy resources as a tool to blackmail EU countries for their support of Ukraine.

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Manipulation: Majority of Europeans Against New Russian Sanctions

According to a YouGov poll, the idea of ​​introducing new additional sanctions against Russia has strong support among Europeans: 74% of those surveyed in Poland, 75% in the UK, 76% in Spain, 55% in Germany, 56% in Italy, 62% in France, all support the introduction of additional economic sanctions against Russia in their country. What the Europeans are unwilling to support are further sanctions against Russia if it would negatively impact their own standard of living. It was this single indicator - one of many in the survey - that the Kremlin media focused on, portraying it as the overall European sentiment on sanctions, thereby manipulating the integrity of the YouGov survey data.

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Fake: Children are Taken Away from Ukrainian Refugees in Germany “for Having Emotion and…

StopFake found no evidence of Ukrainian refugees living in Europe having their children taken away from them. The German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt) and the Youth Welfare Office (Jugendamt) are not aware of any such cases in the families of Ukrainian refugees.

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