An online network of social media accounts linked to Russia is trying to boost messages connected to the far-right Alternative for Germany as the country’s voters head to the polls today, according to analysis by the Atlantic Council, a think-tank.
The researchers said that a so-called botnet — a collection of automated accounts that can repost messages quickly to spread them widely online — with links to Russia had started to promote hashtags on Twitter connected to the AfD over the last 48 hours. There had been a significant spike in such online activities, according to the think-tank’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, in an effort to boost far-right turnout during the election.
