In this way, parties can defend themselves against a dirty election campaign

For about a week, thousands of posters have been hanging in many major German cities, raising the mood against the Greens. Words like “climate socialism” and “eco-terror” are denounced on large advertising spaces with the hashtag # GrünerMist.

The CDU also had to defend itself against fake posters. The environmental protection movement Extinction Rebellion, especially in the Ruhr area, posted signs in the CDU design with the inscription “Everyone is talking about the climate. We’re ruining it ”.

The election campaign in Germany this year is plagued by “negative campaigning”, that is, actions that are solely about putting the political opponent in a bad light. Contents are in the background. In the USA, this phenomenon has found its master in Trump. Perhaps that is why the comparison with the United States often falls in this super election year.

The political scientist Sebastian Jarzebski does not draw this comparison. “I think that we are far from the conditions in the USA,” he told Tagesspiegel. This is also due to the fact that people in Germany do not directly elect the Federal Chancellor. That defuses the election campaign.

Nevertheless, the political advisor observes: The German election campaign is becoming more and more staged and theatrical and is approaching that of the USA. “The level of the election campaign in Germany is about six to eight years behind,” says Jarzebski. “Both the positive, such as the online election campaign, as well as the negative.”

Sebastian Jarzebski says that counterfeit posters are piling up like this is a new phenomenon. This is because anyone can produce pretty real fakes with simple image editing tools. Social media platforms also help. “A photo of a poster has the potential to go around the world,” says the political scientist. That is dangerous for democracy.

While the posters against the Greens hang in 50 large cities, the party does not look on idly. Within 42 hours, they raised more than 100,000 euros for a counter campaign through an appeal for donations.

And other parties did not leave the disparaging posters uncommented either. For example, the Secretary General of the CDU, Paul Ziemiak, announced his solidarity with the Greens via Twitter: “The filth that is currently being poured over the Greens from AfD and NPD-affiliated circles & is being fired with a poster campaign is disgusting.”

The fact that other parties stand up for a fair election campaign and fight loudly against populist actions is a solution to counteract negative campaigning, says Sebastian Jarzebski. Ziemiak’s statement could also serve as a model. With this “democracy joining forces” he is optimistic that the election campaign will remain fair in the future.

The political scientist also emphasizes that people can often see well when posters are not real. “I think people are smart enough not to get caught up in it,” he says. “I trust common sense.”

Rather, a basic trust in the media and parties could be destroyed if fakes were not dealt with well. Nevertheless, the current abuse campaigns are not an acute cause for concern, says Jarzebski: “As long as it is about singular fakes, we can cope well as a society.”