DISINFO: Merkel funds US protesters

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

AI translations:

DISINFO: Merkel funds US protesters

SUMMARY

When police killed George Floyd, riots erupted in many cities of the US and Western Europe. Black people came out under the slogan “Black Lives Matter”. However, white activists from left-wing radical groups, such as Antifa, quickly took to the street. Who was among those inspiring them from abroad?

Angela Merkel was, not personally, but rather the regime that brought her to power 15 years ago. This is confirmed by the Bundestag deputy of the opposition party, Alternative for Germany, Petr Bystron, in his statement, in which he says: The budget of Angela Merkel’s office for 2020 is 3.19 billion euros. Almost half of this amount (1.82 billion euros) is allocated to the needs of the Department of Culture and the Media.

Huge amounts from the “propaganda budget of the German Chancellor” are allocated to finance various “activists”. In 2019, the Merkel government allocated 9 million euros to finance these organisations. Considering that Antifa is positioning itself as a “global leftist international” and has activists in all Western countries, it is obvious that these human and material resources could be used for protests in the USA, which, by the way, take place exactly under the same slogans (only here the “main fascists” are not AfD, but Trump, activists of the Republican Party and police).

Now, you understand why the US Attorney General’s office spoke about the “foreign roots of the riots” and who specifically could be meant here.

RESPONSE

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the racial justice protests in the US.

There is no evidence to suggest that the protests in the US broke out through “top-down mobilisation", let alone "foreign intervention".

The widespread protests against racial injustice and police brutality broke out in the US after the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on the 25th of May, 2020. The protests followed several high-profile incidents involving African Americans and the police, invoking debates about racism in the US.

See similar claims that the protests were financed by George Soros to prevent the reelection of Trump, that he funds far-left groups with the aim to oust trump. and that Bellingcat fuels the US riots.

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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