Far-right groups hit Germany’s flooded regions with conspiracy theories and disinformation | Coda Story

In July, “once-in-a-century” flash flooding killed nearly 200 people in western Germany and left 30,000 homeless, or without basic services, such as water and electricity. In the aftermath, a retired army colonel and leading figure in the country’s Querdenken anti-lockdown movement, named Maximillian Eder, announced that he was going to visit Ahrweiler, one of the worst-hit areas in the country.

On a YouTube livestream by the group “Honk for Hope,” which had previously organized buses to anti-lockdown protests in cities across Germany, Eder called for a “unit” of like-minded individuals to ride down to the flooded area and work at a Querdenken stall to hand out food, flashlights and other “everyday necessities” to individuals affected by the disaster. He said that the local council was “letting people down terribly,” because it had rejected his offer to coordinate all rescue operations.

Shortly before, Eder, who lives in the southern state of Bavaria, had appeared at an anti-lockdown protest in Berlin, calling for a military coup. In his YouTube stream, he wore his old uniform.

 

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Source: Far-right groups hit Germany’s flooded regions with conspiracy theories and disinformation | Coda Story