• German intelligence reports a rise in Russia-linked disinformation campaigns targeting Chancellor Friedrich Merz since June 2026.
• Disinformation activities involving videos resembling media releases are primarily spread through social media platforms like X.
• The main goal of these campaigns is to escalate social tensions, undermine trust in democratic processes, and influence political opinion-forming, according to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

German intelligence has recorded a rise in disinformation spread about Chancellor Friedrich Merz that is believed to be linked to Russia, according to a media report published on Wednesday.

"Since the end of June 2026, the frequency of these activities has increased further," the Handelsblatt business newspaper quoted the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany's domestic intelligence agency, as saying.

The disinformation campaigns - which often involve videos designed to look like they are released by well-known media outlets - are primarily run via X and other social media platforms, it said.

Actors involved in disseminating content that centres on false information about Merz include the so-called Matrjoschka campaign as well as the Storm-1516 group, according to the intelligence agency.

The German government officially linked Storm-1516 to Russia in December 2025, after the group was also found to have been spreading disinformation around the German national election in February 2025.

The main aim of such campaigns was the "escalation of social tensions, the undermining of trust in democratic processes, and the influencing of political opinion-forming and decision-making," the intelligence agency told Handelsblatt.