Germany warns: social media disinformation war shaping young voters' choices

German security analysts are raising concerns about the growing influence of social media on voter attitudes, particularly among young people. In recent state elections, more than half of young voters cast ballots for parties that are skeptical of continued support for Ukraine.

Lieutenant Colonel Marcel Bohnert of the German Bundeswehr, who has first-hand experience with hybrid warfare, argues in an interview with journalist Rixa Fürsen that this shift cannot be explained by conventional political debate alone. He points to coordinated disinformation campaigns, bot networks and fake news websites actively shaping public opinion inside Germany.

Foreign actors and algorithms

According to Bohnert, platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and X have become battlegrounds where foreign actors compete for narrative dominance, exploiting algorithms to amplify their messaging. He stresses that in today's conflicts, non-military tools — propaganda, manipulation and disinformation — now carry far more weight than traditional weapons.

The conversation explores how democratic societies can defend themselves in digital spaces and what strategies can help separate factual information from a flood of fake news. The interview was published as part of Politico's Berlin Playbook podcast, hosted each morning by Rixa Fürsen and Maximilian Stascheit.