Unsocial media

On 26 September, Europe's biggest democracy will go to the polls. Germany is the powerhouse of the EU: the German Chancellor is generally regarded as one of the bloc's informal leaders.

The winner of the election will find themselves presiding over one of the world's greatest manufacturing powers, an important US ally, a ballast against Russian power and a target of Chinese diplomacy. They will steward 83 million people through the next stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But Germany looks set to become the latest Western democracy to fall victim to a a different endemicCommon to a particular place or community. virus: fake news.

So far, German fake news has followed familiar patterns. After the centre-right Christian Democratic UnionA centre-right party in Germany that is one of the most successful political parties in history. It has been in power in Germany for 50 of the last 70 years. (CDU) defeated the extreme right-wing Alternative for GermanyA German nationalist party that is opposed to immigration and the EU. SInce 2017 it has been the third-largest party in the German federal parliament, the Bundestag. (AfD) in a local election in Saxony-AnhaltA German state that was previously part of communist East Germany. It has been seen as one of the parts of Germany in which the AfD might gain a foothold. in July, some AfD supporters alleged that election fraud had taken place.

The main target of fake news has been the leader of the Green PartyA centre-left party largely focused on environmental politics. It formed part of a coalition government with the Social Democrats between 1998 and 2005., Annalena Baerbock. Viral social media posts have claimed she plans to ban pets and barbecues and make schools teach the QuranThe holy book of Islam, whose words are believed by Muslims to have been passed directly from God to the Prophet Muhammad in a series of visions spanning 23 years..

Other posts have linked her with billionaire George SorosA Hungarian businessman who has been the target of nationalist and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories., a hate figure for the far-right.

It is hard to prove that fake news has had an impact on the campaign. But earlier in the year, the Greens were surging in the polls. Since then they have slumped to third place.

Much of the fake news seems to be sponsored by foreign agents: Russia and TurkeyOfficially the Republic of Turkiye, a country that lies partly in Europe and partly in Asia at the east of the Mediterranean. , which has a close but often fraught relationship with both the EU and Germany.

For some, this is evidence that democracy cannot survive the fake news epidemic. A healthy democracy relies on a well-informed populace. Misinformation warps their choices and creates divisions.

Social media companies have made some efforts to shut down fake news. But experts think this self-regulation is not working. They claim the social media companies have little incentive to stamp out misinformation.

While some have called for government regulation, others worry that this could have dangerous implications. If some people feel they are being silenced, this could create still more division.

That is why for some experts, the answer is not meddling with social media, but inoculating people against misinformation. Teaching people media literacy can help them avoid being taken in by false claims.

Is teaching media literacy the best solution?

Yes. Fake news is a disease, and like any other disease the only solution is vaccination. Social media is fast-moving, chaotic, decentralised and lawless. The only way people can survive in such a landscape is if they are equipped with the right skills.

No. There is a reason why viral misinformation spreads: modern technology has created a society of atomised people desperately looking for community. Online extremists provide a sense of self for people who are lonely. Until we tackle this, people will continue to spread conspiracy theories and fake news.