https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Germany in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed With Germany's Green party leading the polls ahead of September's general elections, the ecologists' would-be successor to Angela Merkel has become increasingly targeted by internet trolls and fake news in recent weeks. https://www.thelocal.de/20210429/german-greens-chancellor-candidate-baerbock-targeted-by-fake-news Thu, 29 Apr 2021 11:13:51 +0200 german-greens-chancellor-candidate-baerbock-targeted-by-fake-news From Bill Gates to cell phone radiation, Berlin's public transport provider humorously shed light on a growing number of conspiracy theories about the coronavirus circulating around Germany. https://www.thelocal.de/20200513/berlin-transport-agency-bvg-pokes-fun-of-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories Wed, 13 May 2020 19:04:02 +0200 berlin-transport-agency-bvg-pokes-fun-of-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories Germany lurched into a brief panic on Friday as several media outlets fell for a satirical tweet that claimed Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition had collapsed in a bitter row over immigration. https://www.thelocal.de/20180615/satirical-tweet-about-collapse-of-merkels-coalition-prompts-brief-panic-in-germany Fri, 15 Jun 2018 16:45:32 +0200 satirical-tweet-about-collapse-of-merkels-coalition-prompts-brief-panic-in-germany Bild newspaper ran a story detailing allegations of cooperation between Russian trolls and the Social Democrat’s youth leader. But a satire magazine revealed on Wednesday that it tricked the tabloid with fake information. https://www.thelocal.de/20180221/germanys-biggest-newspaper-under-fire-after-publishing-fake-russia-email-story Wed, 21 Feb 2018 18:02:57 +0100 germanys-biggest-newspaper-under-fire-after-publishing-fake-russia-email-story The Association of German Journalists accused the Alternative for Germany (AfD) of opening their own propaganda wing, after Focus magazine reported on Thursday that the far-right party are to set up their own newsroom in Berlin. https://www.thelocal.de/20180209/afd-to-launch-its-own-newsroom-in-spring-to-strengthen-media-relations-report Fri, 09 Feb 2018 12:21:52 +0100 afd-to-launch-its-own-newsroom-in-spring-to-strengthen-media-relations-report The interior ministry in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has warned that a letter being shared on social media which appears to show them ordering police to cover up refugee crimes is in fact fake. https://www.thelocal.de/20170816/state-authorities-warn-that-letter-ordering-silence-on-refugee-crimes-is-a-fake Wed, 16 Aug 2017 18:11:24 +0200 state-authorities-warn-that-letter-ordering-silence-on-refugee-crimes-is-a-fake Facebook is fighting back against a proposed law that would force social networks to remove hateful content more quickly. https://www.thelocal.de/20170529/facebook-condemns-germanys-so-called-hate-speech-law Mon, 29 May 2017 11:55:45 +0200 facebook-condemns-germanys-so-called-hate-speech-law The German Foreign Ministry has issued a warning over a "fake news" story being shared on social media, claiming they had issued a travel warning for Sweden. https://www.thelocal.de/20170307/achtung-fake-news-germany-warns-of-false-travel-warning-claims-about-sweden Tue, 07 Mar 2017 10:49:50 +0100 achtung-fake-news-germany-warns-of-false-travel-warning-claims-about-sweden The Bild newspaper has established the position of an "independent" ombudsman to respond to any complaints or questions their readers may have about facts and sources used in their articles. https://www.thelocal.de/20170223/bild-appoints-ombudsman-to-deal-with-fake-news-complaints Thu, 23 Feb 2017 16:48:33 +0100 bild-appoints-ombudsman-to-deal-with-fake-news-complaints German soldiers recently deployed to Lithuania have been fighting off more than just fears about Russia. https://www.thelocal.de/20170217/german-army-battles-fake-news-campaign-of-rape-reports-in-lithuania Fri, 17 Feb 2017 18:26:11 +0100 german-army-battles-fake-news-campaign-of-rape-reports-in-lithuania Germany's efforts to punish social media companies when "fake news" is shared on their platforms will hurt tech start-ups while fueling the anger of conspiracy theorists, argue tech analysts Nick Wallace and Alan McQuinn. https://www.thelocal.de/20170201/why-germany-shouldnt-force-social-media-companies-to-be-the-arbiters-of-truth Wed, 01 Feb 2017 11:28:55 +0100 why-germany-shouldnt-force-social-media-companies-to-be-the-arbiters-of-truth Facebook will have to defend itself for the first time in a German court on February 6th over complaints that it allowed the spread of multiple "fake news" posts about the same Syrian refugee. https://www.thelocal.de/20170110/facebook-sued-in-german-court-over-spread-of-fake-news-about-syrian-refugee Tue, 10 Jan 2017 18:04:41 +0100 facebook-sued-in-german-court-over-spread-of-fake-news-about-syrian-refugee Journalists have condemned a report by Breitbart news that claimed a mob of 1,000 men had attacked police and set fire to a church, calling the article a distortion of facts. https://www.thelocal.de/20170105/german-media-blasts-misleading-breitbart-reports-of-violence-on-new-years Thu, 05 Jan 2017 15:34:57 +0100 german-media-blasts-misleading-breitbart-reports-of-violence-on-new-years Perhaps US-style conspiracy theories such as "pizzagate" aren't so common in Germany. But insidious lies are still turning people to violent crime, argues Christina Lee. https://www.thelocal.de/20161213/think-pizzagate-couldnt-happen-in-germany-think-again Tue, 13 Dec 2016 15:58:35 +0100 think-pizzagate-couldnt-happen-in-germany-think-again Fearing media manipulation in next year's national election, conservative Union politicians are calling for "fake news" to be a criminal offence. https://www.thelocal.de/20161213/conservative-politicians-want-fake-news-to-be-criminal-offence Tue, 13 Dec 2016 12:13:11 +0100 conservative-politicians-want-fake-news-to-be-criminal-offence Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Wednesday against the power of fake news on social media to spur the rise of populists, after launching her campaign for a fourth term. https://www.thelocal.de/20161123/merkel-public-being-manipulated-by-fake-news-and-trolls Wed, 23 Nov 2016 12:50:09 +0100 merkel-public-being-manipulated-by-fake-news-and-trolls