On July 31 and August 1, Russian media (tsargrad.tv, MK.RU, KP.RU, GAZETA.RU, 5-tv.ru) published information about German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, alleging that she used escort services during her visit to Africa.
Russian media outlets cited the Nigerian Daily Post and German-language publication Zeitgeschehen.
Daily Post published an interview with a man named Kingsley, who claimed he provided services to the German minister in Nigeria and was then asked to accompany her to Pretoria, South Africa. According to Kingsley, he earned between 2,500 and 3,500 EUR for this service. Zeitgeschehen compiled a chronology of Baerbock’s visits and noted that she was indeed in Abuja in December 2022.
The information about Annalena Baerbock was also shared by the Hanover page of the German far-right party AfD and Russian propagandist journalist Olga Skabeeva on Telegram.
The disseminated information aims to discredit Annalena Baerbock. The YouTube channel Adeya, which the Daily Post references, has only one video published on the channel, created on June 23. Additionally, the German-language publication Zeitgeschehen was established on July 24 and published its oldest article on July 26.
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Chronology of Disinformation about Annalena Baerbock
Media use the YouTube channel Adeya’s video as an argument to claim that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock used escort services. This channel was created on June 23, 2024, and the only video published, dated July 29, is about Annalena Baerbock. In the video, a man introduced as Kingsley talks about his experience with Baerbock. As of August 2, the channel has three subscribers. After this, on July 31, the Nigerian media Daily Post published a written version of Kingsley’s interview. On the same day, the newly established German-language media Zeitgeschehen disseminated the same information based on this source. Russian sites mainly spread the information on August 1.
Based on Daily Post, the German-language site Zeitgeschehen published the information on July 31. It is noteworthy that the site was created on July 24 and has its oldest article dated July 26. This fact reinforces the suspicion that the site was created explicitly to spread disinformation.
Using photo search tools, no additional information can be found about the man speaking in the video. In the video, he is introduced as Kingsley, but no further information about him can be found in open sources.
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Disinformation Dissemination Technique on Newly-created webites
A similar method, where a website is created a few days before disinformation is spread, is a tried-and-tested Kremlin practice and has been used multiple times to spread disinformation about the Zelensky family. ” Myth Detector,” in collaboration with Maldita.es, StopFake, Delfi, Chequeado, La Silla Vacía, Animal Político, and EsPaja, has already prepared two studies on this topic:
- THE PIZZAGATE OF ZELENSKI’S WIFE, AND OTHER CROSS-BORDER HOAXES THAT USE WOMEN AND CHILDREN TO DELEGITIMIZE UKRAINE
- ZELENSKY AND HIS WIFE SPENDING WESTERN MONEY ON LUXURY GOODS OR SQUANDERING WAR RESOURCES: THE CROSS-BORDER DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGNS CIRCULATING FROM GEORGIA TO ARGENTINA
In such cases of disinformation dissemination, all sites follow the same path. Initially, a video is published on YouTube or another social media channel featuring a supposed confession from a foundation or organization’s employee. The channel is typically created a few days before the video is published and usually only posts one video. In this particular case, the channel was created on June 23, and like other examples, it only has one video where a man named Kingsley talks about providing services to the German minister and receiving payment for it. The same scheme was used to spread falsehoods about Zelensky purchasing King Charles III‘s palace, where an alleged real estate agent’s confession was first published on YouTube.
After this, the information is disseminated mainly on newly established sites that present themselves as media organizations, citing the video as their source. In this case, the newly established German-language site zeitgeschehen relies on the Nigerian Daily Post, which in turn references the YouTube channel Adeya, which has only one video and three subscribers. It is noteworthy that it is common for such information to be first published on French-language sites targeting audiences in African countries like Burkina Faso or Nigeria.
In the past, Annalena Baerbock was targeted by a different disinformation narrative, claiming she was involved in prostitution. As evidence, photos of a young naked woman resembling her were published, who was later identified as a Russian porn model.
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