BERLIN (Reuters) - German authorities are extremely concerned that Russia may seek to interfere in Germany’s national elections next year, echoing concerns voiced by their counterparts in the United States.
Hans-Georg Maassen, head of the domestic BfV intelligence agency, cited the high-profile case last year of a young Russian woman from Berlin who Russian media said was kidnapped and raped by migrants, a claim later refuted by the German government.
"This could happen again next year and we are alarmed," Maassen told Reuters in an interview late on Tuesday.
"We have the impression that this is part of a hybrid threat that seeks to influence public opinion and decision-making processes."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised similar concerns last week, saying there were signs of Internet attacks and misinformation campaigns from Russia.
Maassen said it was important to publicly expose such campaigns. "When people realize that the information that they are getting is not true... then the toxic lies lose their effectiveness."
U.S. intelligence officials warned in the run-up to this month's presidential election of a campaign to undermine the credibility of the vote that they believed was backed by the Russian government. Russian officials denied any such effort.
