Case storm-1516-bundestag-deepfakesState actor AI opsGermany
Storm-1516 floods German election with 100+ AI-written fake news sites and deepfakes
CORRECTIV and NewsGuard exposed a Russian network of more than 100 German-language fake news sites filled with LLM-rewritten articles and deepfake videos smearing Habeck, Baerbock and Faber before the February 2025 vote.
HighAttack using AIStatus: OngoingVerified case file
Open in the interactive mapCite this case
- Reported
- Jan 23, 2025
- Location
- Germany
- Target
- German Bundestag election candidates and voters
- Severity
- High
- Triggered by
- Storm-1516 (John Mark Dougan network)
- Actor type
- State-sponsored
- Reported loss
- None reported
- CVE
- None
What happened
CORRECTIV and NewsGuard exposed a Russian network of more than 100 German-language fake news sites filled with LLM-rewritten articles and deepfake videos smearing Habeck, Baerbock and Faber before the February 2025 vote.
Impact: Fabricated abuse and espionage claims against leading candidates circulated on social media; most individual fakes did not go viral but the network persisted into 2026 state elections.
Who triggered it
Actor: Storm-1516 (John Mark Dougan network)
Attribution: Linked by researchers to Moscow-based former US officer John Mark Dougan and to the GRU; the German government formally blamed Russia and summoned its ambassador in December 2025.
Motive: Undermine trust in pro-Ukraine candidates and influence the Bundestag election.
How it happened
Attack vector: Domains registered in waves from November 2024, LLM-rewritten articles, fake whistleblower videos including a face-swap deepfake of FDP politician Marcus Faber, amplified by pro-Russian influencers.
Root cause: Low cost of LLM content generation and deepfake tooling let a small team run a large synthetic media network ahead of a snap election.
Timeline
- First wave of German-language fake news domains registered
- CORRECTIV publishes investigation listing 102 Storm-1516 domains
- Bundestag election held
- German Foreign Office summons Russian ambassador over Storm-1516 interference
Response
Media fact-checks and domain exposure; German authorities confirmed the operation and summoned Russia's ambassador; Storm-1516 videos reappeared during the 2026 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern vote.
Current status: Ongoing
Sources (open in a new tab)
Cite this case
Storm-1516 floods German election with 100+ AI-written fake news sites and deepfakes. AI Threat Watch, case storm-1516-bundestag-deepfakes, Jan 23, 2025. https://aithreat.io/cases/storm-1516-bundestag-deepfakes/
Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/storm-1516-bundestag-deepfakes/