INTERNACIONAL
Rusia fue acusada de difundir desinformación a favor de la extrema derecha alemana antes de las elecciones
La intensificación de la desinformación en redes sociales, detectada en las últimas semanas por activistas y organismos de inteligencia, apuntan a un intento de influir en las elecciones regionales de Alemania. Las campañas, atribuidas por varios actores a operaciones rusas, generaron inquietud entre autoridades y sectores de la sociedad civil, que advierten sobre el posible impacto en los comicios de septiembre.
En el este del país, Alternativa para Alemania (AfD) lidera las encuestas en Sajonia-Anhalt y Mecklemburgo-Pomerania Occidental, y aspira a controlar un gobierno regional por primera vez desde 1945. El avance de la formación prorrusa y antiinmigrante sería un golpe para la coalición del canciller Friedrich Merz y marcaría un hito en la política alemana.
Ante la proximidad de las elecciones, se multiplicaron las publicaciones con desinformación en plataformas como X, TikTok y Bluesky. Según grupos de monitoreo y diputados alemanes, la hipótesis central es que Rusia estaría detrás de estos ataques, empleando estrategias para beneficiar a la extrema derecha y erosionar la confianza en los partidos tradicionales.
Las sospechas de injerencia rusa en las campañas digitales fueron avaladas por legisladores y activistas, quienes señalan la aparición de cuentas falsas y la difusión de acusaciones de corrupción contra rivales de AfD y BSW, un pequeño partido de extrema izquierda también identificado como prorruso. Las operaciones utilizaron versiones falsificadas de medios reconocidos, como AFP, ARD y Deutsche Welle, para amplificar el impacto de la desinformación.
La organización Antibot4Navalny, un colectivo anónimo que lleva el nombre del opositor ruso asesinado, documentó dos campañas desde junio. “No hay otra explicación plausible”, sostuvo un activista del grupo en diálogo con la AFP, quien aseguró que las maniobras guardan similitud con la operación Matryoshka, vinculada previamente al Kremlin.
El gobierno alemán evitó pronunciarse directamente sobre la operación Matryoshka, aunque reconoció: “Las operaciones de manipulación de información… constituyeron durante mucho tiempo una amenaza diaria”. Esta postura refleja una respuesta cautelosa, en parte para no amplificar involuntariamente el alcance de las campañas de desinformación.
Konstantin von Notz, diputado de Los Verdes y vicepresidente del comité de supervisión de inteligencia, fue tajante en conversación con la AFP: “La narrativa que se difunde desde Rusia a Alemania, con un presupuesto millonario, es luego retransmitida deliberadamente por la AfD de forma selectiva”. Von Notz también criticó la falta de reacción gubernamental y exigió respuestas más contundentes ante lo que considera un peligro real.
Por su parte, la embajada rusa rechazó las acusaciones, calificándolas de “ridículas” y advirtiendo que Alemania y Europa siguen “un camino extremadamente peligroso” que perjudica a sus ciudadanos. La coalición gobernante, liderada por la CDU/CSU y el SPD, denuncia regularmente una “guerra híbrida” de Moscú, que iría más allá de la propaganda y abarcaría espionaje y sabotaje.
El servicio nacional de inteligencia (BfV) confirmó estar al tanto de la campaña digital y de sus similitudes con operaciones rusas, aunque hasta el momento no se han anunciado acciones concretas para contrarrestarla. Marc Henrichmann, presidente del comité de supervisión de inteligencia y diputado de la CDU, subrayó la necesidad de cautela: “Si al dirigir una campaña a un público específico conseguimos darle aún más publicidad, entonces, obviamente, habremos cometido un error”. Henrichmann también abogó por otorgar mayores poderes a los servicios de inteligencia para combatir el fenómeno.
Desde la AfD, la respuesta ha sido de rechazo a las acusaciones. Ulrich Siegmund, principal candidato del partido en Sajonia-Anhalt, declaró a la AFP: “Buscar un entendimiento razonable con otro país no significa que estés trabajando para conseguirlo”. El político insistió en que el interés alemán debe guiar las acciones del partido, incluyendo la defensa de la compra de energía rusa barata y la reducción del gasto en Ucrania e inmigración.
Entre los simpatizantes de la formación, la percepción de Rusia como un aliado natural es recurrente. Hans-Joachim Dietrich, camionero jubilado, expresó a la AFP: “Creo que debemos defender con más firmeza, incluso dentro de la AfD, que Rusia es nuestro aliado natural”.
Henrichmann advirtió sobre el riesgo de una “guerra cognitiva” impulsada desde Moscú, destinada a sembrar miedo y división en Alemania, especialmente en un contexto de reformas militares y apoyo a Ucrania frente a Rusia.
“No hay duda: la AfD es el portavoz del presidente ruso Vladimir Putin en Alemania y está explotando conscientemente estas narrativas”, afirmó el legislador. Sin embargo, tanto Henrichmann como activistas reconocen que, por ahora, el alcance de la campaña digital es limitado, aunque advierten que la vigilancia debe continuar y que es necesario reforzar los poderes de los servicios de inteligencia para proteger el proceso democrático.
(Con información de AFP)
Domestic,Politics,Europe,Government / Politics
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Amy Coney Barrett recalls heartbreaking question from 12-year-old son over bulletproof vest
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Justice Amy Coney Barrett told the House Appropriations Committee the uptick in threats waged against her and fellow Supreme Court justices have taken a toll on her children.
«They have required my children to think about and see things that children should not have to see or think about,» Barrett testified Tuesday.
Barrett shared how her security detail gave her a bulletproof vest to wear, and one day when she brought it into her bedroom, her 12-year-old son asked what it was.
«And I didn’t know how to respond because maybe I lack imagination, but I didn’t expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was and why I had to wear one,» Barrett told the committee.
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Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan’s testimony before Congress came as the Supreme Court seeks a 10% budget increase for fiscal year 2027, with roughly $16.6 million of the $20.7 million increase dedicated to expanding security for the justices.
Supreme Court justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett testify before the House Appropriations Committee on Capitol Hill July 14, 2026, in Washington. (Finn Gomez/Getty Images)
Barrett, who was the target of a swatting incident in May, recounted how her and her family’s lives drastically changed following the leaked Dobbs decision in 2022, which ruled that abortion was not a constitutional right, causing threats on her life to intensify.
In that incident, someone falsely reported gunshots at her home, Barrett testified, saying her teenage son and his friends were the first to discover the street filled with police.
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«I was very, very grateful that I had Supreme Court police outside my home because they were able to stop and meet with and explain to the county police that it had been a false alarm, and so the police did not actually attempt to enter our home,» Barrett said.
She also shared that her and other justices are receiving anonymous packages being sent in the name of Daniel Anderl, the 20-year-old son of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas, who was killed in 2020.
The gunman was an attorney posing as a delivery driver. Judge Salas was his target. Salas’ husband was seriously injured as well.
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett arrives to testify during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington July 14, 2026. (Kent Nishimura/AFP)
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«I think the message on these deliveries being sent in his name is clear,» Barrett said. «As Justice Kagan said, federal judges across the country, throughout the judiciary, including the Supreme Court, continue to do their jobs without fear or favor, but the threat level is really high.»
The testimony underscored the urgency behind the Supreme Court’s push for more security funding during its first appearance before Congress since 2019.
In total, the Supreme Court is requesting roughly $89 million to cover personal security costs, which Kagan said is necessary given that the justices have experienced a 35% increase in threats just in 2026, compared to a 25% increase in threats the year prior. Kagan noted how recent growth in the budget can be entirely attributed to security expenses.
«For some of us, those threats have come very close, and all of us live with the knowledge that they may again materialize,» Kagan testified.
She recalled that when she arrived at the Supreme Court in 2010, justices did not receive around-the-clock personal protection. Instead, the court’s police primarily guarded the building, and she only had security accompanying her during work-related public events.
But Kagan said the heightened focus on justices’ security began after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in 2016. Scalia died while on a hunting trip in Texas, where he was hours away from security personnel after declining a private security detail for the trip.
Kagan recalled that Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and the late Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., went to Chief Justice John Roberts to push them to step up security.
«This was how the chief described it to us — they said, kind of like, ‘We think you’re crazy, you know, that you have less security than the director of the Office of Personnel Management does. And we think that you have to do better.’
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«Then, of course, the Dobbs leak happened, and that really increased the urgency of the entire thing,» Kagan said. «But we’ve been working on this now for about a decade and actually, I think, are grateful to Congress for coming to us and saying, ‘You have to up your game in this area.’»
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WATCH: Elissa Slotkin says SAVE America Act would make it ‘hard for any Democrat’ to win an election
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Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE) America Act would make it harder for Democrats to win elections, prompting Republicans to argue she had finally said «the quiet part out loud» about Democrats’ opposition to stricter election laws.
Slotkin made the remarks in a video recently unearthed by Breitbart News that was recorded the day after the Senate narrowly rejected the SAVE America Act in June. The bill failed 50-48 after four Republicans joined Democrats in voting against it.
The SAVE America Act has become one of the biggest legislative fights in Congress, and President Donald Trump has made its passage his top priority. Trump refused to sign a housing bill Friday to protest Congress’ failure to pass the SAVE America Act.
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During a June 6 address to Indiana’s state Democratic Party, Slotkin celebrated the Senate’s rejection of the SAVE America Act, in which she claimed the bill would allow the Trump administration to «rig our democracy.»
«It would be hard for any Democrat in any state to win any election,» Slotkin said of the SAVE America Act.
Slotkin did not explain how the legislation would hurt Democratic politicians.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE) America Act would make it harder for Democrats to win elections. (Tom Williams/Getty Images)
The SAVE America Act would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and photo identification to cast a ballot in federal elections and mandates that states take additional steps to remove noncitizens from voter rolls.
Trump argued for months that Democrats opposed the SAVE America Act because it would make it harder to «cheat» in elections, claiming the party benefits politically from weak voter verification measures and the votes of people who are not eligible to vote.
During his Feb. 24 State of the Union address, Trump urged Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, arguing Democrats oppose voter ID because «the only way they can get elected is to cheat.»
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«And the reason they don’t want to do it — why would anybody not want voter ID? One reason: Because they want to cheat. There’s only one reason. They make up all excuses,» Trump said.
«They say, ‘It’s racist.’ They come up with things — you almost say, ‘What imagination they have.’ They want to cheat, they have cheated and their policy is so bad that the only way they can get elected is to cheat, and we’re going to stop it.»
But the Center for Election Innovation & Research, a nonprofit election policy group that describes itself as nonpartisan, has found that voter registration of noncitizens is rare.
«When investigations do turn up rare instances of improper registration or voting, officials take swift action to ensure that American elections remain secure,» according to the Center for Election Innovation & Research.
Trump argued for months that Democrats oppose the SAVE America Act because it would make it harder to «cheat» in elections. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
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Slotkin also alleged that the SAVE America Act would make it more difficult for married women to vote, saying a woman would have to show her birth certificate at the polls.
Critics of the bill argue the requirement could create additional hurdles for some married women who changed their last names after marriage because the name on their birth certificate may not match their current identification. In those cases, voters may need to provide additional documentation, such as a marriage certificate.
Republican congressional members slammed Slotkin.
«Democrats are saying the quiet part out loud,» Rep. Tony Wied wrote on X Tuesday. «They know they can’t win on their own merit.»
«This talking point from the Left is not only false, but it also paints women as incapable, which we all know is not the case,» Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., also wrote on X Tuesday. «Showing up to the polls to vote with an ID that proves you’re an American citizen – whether you’re married or not – is common sense. We need to pass the SAVE America Act.»
«By that same logic, no married woman in America could fill out an I-9 form — which every American must do when starting a new job,» Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote on X on Tuesday. «This is absurd. And it highlights why we need to pass the SAVE America Act.»
Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., speaks at a news conference Nov. 9, 2022, in East Lansing, Mich. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Slotkin’s office referred Fox News Digital to a June video of Slotkin in which the Michigan Democrat said Trump told Congress that if Republicans lose the 2026 midterms, the election was «rigged.»
«In the State of the Union, while we were all sitting on the House floor, he said again that if his side doesn’t win in November 2026, the election was rigged,» Slotkin said in the video, referring to Trump.
A Fox News Digital review of Trump’s State of the Union address found Trump did not make that statement. Instead, Trump argued Democrats «want to cheat» and that «the only way they can get elected is to cheat.» He also said Republicans could face impeachment if they lose the midterms.
«They want to cheat, they have cheated and their policy is so bad that the only way they can get elected is to cheat,» he said. «And we’re going to stop it.»
In the video, Slotkin also accused Trump of trying to federalize elections, pointing to an unsigned draft executive order drafted after the 2020 election that proposed using the National Guard to seize voting machines. The order was never signed or carried out.
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The White House dismissed Slotkin’s claims about SAVE America hurting Democrats.
«If securing America’s elections — through commonsense methods like voter ID and proof of citizenship — will make it impossible for Democrats to win elections, perhaps they should reconsider the methods they’re using to ‘win,’» White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
republicans, congress, voting, donald trump, domestic policy
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