Habeck falls for Russian trolls
Russian trolls have repeatedly framed German politicians, including former Chancellor Merkel. Federal Economics Minister Habeck is now supposedly on the phone with a representative of the African Union. However, the fake call was not as successful as the trolls claim.
Russian trolls specializing in disinformation have lured Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck of the Green Party into a fake phone call. The Federal Ministry of Economics confirmed that there had been such a call. According to the ministry, the caller claimed to be a representative of the African Union.
Security-relevant or confidential information was not part of the conversation. The call was interrupted several times due to technical problems with the line, so that a coherent conversation could not be established. According to a ministry spokesperson, a four-minute recording published by the two trolls on Telegram is a compilation. According to the ministry spokesperson, neither the entire conversation nor the questions asked or the answers given could be confirmed.
In the alleged recording, Habeck can be heard calmly explaining in English that Ukraine should be helped to export its grain despite Russian attacks.
According to the ministry, it received information from the German intelligence services shortly after the call. They pointed out that Habeck had been contacted under a false identity, resulting in a fake call. The ministry then analyzed the facts and assigned them. The incident was taken as an opportunity to review and tighten up the existing security loops.
Fake calls like this are nothing new. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel fell for a staged phone call about the Ukraine conflict in February of this year, according to Russian trolls Wowan and Lexus, who specialize in disinformation. The pro-Kremlin interviewers published excerpts from it. Merkel's office in Berlin confirmed at the time that there had been a phone call. "I can confirm a telephone call with a caller who claimed to be former (Ukrainian) President Petro Poroshenko," a spokeswoman said.
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The Russian trolls behind the incident have a history of targeting high-profile German politicians, such as former Chancellor Merkel, who reportedly fell victim to a staged phone call about the Ukraine conflict earlier this year. Despite the ongoing risk of cybercrime, particularly in the form of fake calls and disinformation, Robert Habeck remains committed to advocating for Ukraine's ability to export grain, despite ongoing Russian attacks.
Source: www.ntv.de
