Social Media: Hatred and disinformation affect Merz and Schwesig the most
An analysis of more than 120,000 online comments shows the extent of hate attacks against German politicians on social media. Thousands of posts are in the area of criminal law.
Berlin. Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) admits to only infrequently utilizing social media platforms, according to an April report in "Der Spiegel." Merz remarked, "When you look at what is being spread about me on there, how I am attacked and belittled." Data analysis firm Penemue reveals that Merz is disproportionately affected by online hate and misinformation, with over one in ten comments containing conspiracy theories or calls for violence against his person.
The report also highlights the influence of bots and Russian interference on the election campaigns in Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Berlin. Penemue analyzed over 120,000 comments on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram, and X during the three state legislative elections between September 14th and 20th. This data was gathered using AI models trained by Penemue's co-founder and CEO, Jonas Navid Mehrabanian Al-Nemri, to detect patterns in texts, emojis, coded language, and alphanumeric messaging.
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