Security has been tightened at German Christmas markets after deadly attacks, but if some online videos were to be believed, they have become barbed-wire fortresses guarded by armored personnel carriers.
A flood of disinformation has circulated on social media, with some doctored clips also giving the wrong impression that an Islamic cleric called for prayers at one of the festive events, and that markets have been stormed by Muslim men.
False claims circulating online amplify far-right narratives about immigration and the “Islamization” of German society.
Photo: AP
Images and videos showed what were claimed to be Muslim men or “Islamist immigrants” massing at Christmas markets in the cities of Hamburg and Stuttgart.
However, the footage was from other events: a rally in October last year by the activist group Muslim Interaktiv, which has since been banned, and Syrians celebrating the fall of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad late last year. Several artificial intelligence-generated pictures have also shown Christmas markets with exaggerated security measures such as meter-high barbed wire fences or military-style vehicles parked around them.
German Christmas markets, a centuries-old tradition, are hosted by almost every town and city, and consist of stalls with merchants selling gifts and decorations, as well as sweets, sausages and hot mulled wine.
However, the cozy family atmosphere of the markets has been tarnished by the shock of attacks.
Last year six people were killed and more than 300 wounded in a car-ramming attack on the Christmas market in the eastern city of Magdeburg.
The man now on trial is a Saudi Arabian psychiatrist who adhered to conspiracy theories, held strongly anti-Islam views and repeatedly expressed his fury at German authorities.
That attack recalled a 2016 truck rampage through Berlin’s Christmas market by a Tunisian man with jihadist motives that killed 13 people.
Earlier this month, German authorities said they had arrested five men — an Egyptian, a Syrian and three Moroccans — on suspicion they were involved in a radical Muslim plot to plow a vehicle into a Christmas market in Bavaria.
The far-right Alternative for Germany has seized on such attacks and plots as it calls for the “remigration” of foreigners, especially to Muslim-majority countries.
Another much-shared video this month showed a man dressed in a white robe apparently delivering the Islamic call to prayer at an unspecified German Christmas market.
“This Christmas market has completely capitulated!” an Instagram user commented on the video, which was also shared on Facebook in several languages including English, Greek, Russian and Slovak.
However, the video dates from November 2023 and actually shows a market in the Bavarian town of Karlstadt, an event that had nothing to do with Christmas.
The Andreasmarkt has a different theme every year and in 2023 opened with a call to prayer after two local Islamic groups were asked to contribute, organizers said.
A separate Christmas market was due to open in the town in early December, they said — which is why a Christmas tree can be seen in the video.
Christmas markets are a ripe target for disinformation, because of their emotional associations, Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy researcher Lea Fruehwirth said.
“Christmas symbolism stands for joy, a warm feeling of community and security,” she said.
Narratives that “accuse Muslims of wanting to violently destroy this idealized image can therefore trigger a lot of emotion,” she said.
The creators of such posts are likely seeking to “sow mistrust and deepen divisions in society, as is the case with Russian disinformation campaigns, for example,” Fruehwirth added.
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