Right-wing supporters are trying to learn from similar campaigns in France and the Netherlands.
German users on 4chan are currently making plans to start a “meme war” that would influence the outcome of the upcoming German election.
They hope to organize an online campaign that would swing the election this month in favor of the country's right-wing populist party, Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).
The discussion about German election memes has been taking place across several posts on 4chan’s “Politically Incorrect” message board. Their goal is to suppress votes for competing parties and demoralize left-wing activists. They plan to launch their "meme war" three weeks before the September 24 election.
So far, though, the 4chan users don’t seem to have much prepared. They've created an archive of about 270 memes that users can spread in support of the AfD, a list of political events the group wants to influence, and YouTube videos about far-right German politics that users can share.
The pro-AfD posters are drawing inspiration from right-wing campaigns abroad. They talk about learning from previous meme wars, such as in France when far-right trolls tried and ultimately failed to spread memes and disinformation in an attempt to influence the outcome.
AfD has been sliding in the polls and is currently tied for fifth place with the Green party.
Unlike trolls during the French election, German 4chan users don't appear to be doing much outreach to American Trump supporters. Save for a few posts, the 4chan thread is mostly in German.
And there seems to be an overall lack of knowledge about how to get their message beyond the 4chan echo chamber.
In a section called “meme jihad,” users link to some YouTube videos that could help teach other people how to go viral on the internet. This one, for example, was marked as compulsory viewing.
Users are also encouraging people to donate money or volunteer as campaign workers — something not usually seen in previous meme warfare campaigns leading up to the US, Dutch, and French elections.
It's not clear if there is any official link between the party and the 4chan campaign. AfD did not respond to a BuzzFeed News inquiry.
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