In Germany, the counterintelligence office is interested in the way RT Deutsch presents news on COVID- 19

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and the Federal Criminal Police Directorate (BKA) are monitoring how Russia’s foreign broadcaster Russia Today Deutsch covers the topic of the coronavirus epidemic in Germany.

Bild newspaper reported it on Wednesday, March 25.

Right now, the distorted message from Putin’s state propaganda about the coronavirus epidemic in Germany demands the actions of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution,” claims the newspaper.

The Russian state-owned broadcaster RT Deutsch has been relativizing and instrumentalizing the crisis in Germany for weeks.

Measures taken by the federal government are being criticized as panic spreading and trying to “gain more control over society.”

“There are even claims that there is no epidemic at all,” reports the media.

All this is presented as a combination of “classic news, polls, opinions, and expert discussions.”

One program alone, dated March 20 and entitled “Epidemic that never was there,” has been viewed at least 657,000 times.

German Interior Ministry (BMI ) spokesman Peter Alter did not explicitly confirm whether the relevant authorities were paying special attention to RT Deutsch’s activity, but noted that “RT Deutsch internet television, operated by Russia in Germany and German language, is known to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.”

He noted that all security authorities are paying close attention to how the coronavirus theme can be used for instrumentation and misinformation.

Alter emphasized that “deliberate misinformation and misrepresentation can threaten public safety and order.”

The Federal Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said that the authorities are trying to provide professional and valid information through own channels, and there are media sources that do excellent, respectful and professional information work.

At the same time, he urged not to panic because of distorted messages and fake-news, which unfortunately are also being spread to support uncertainty and confusion within society.