Angela Merkel Isn’t Buying Into the Post-Truth Era
- Germany’s anti-immigration AfD has strong support on Facebook
- Far-right parties "communicate from the bottom up" online
Support for Merkel Rises as She Seeks Fourth Term
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After watching Hillary Clinton get blindsided by the viral spread of Donald Trump’s populism, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is scrambling to figure out how to win voters in an era when online fiction increasingly drowns out fact.
“We shouldn’t underestimate what’s happening on the Internet,” Merkel said in a speech to parliament Wednesday introducing the themes she’ll address in the campaign. “Opinions today are formed differently than 25 years ago. Fake pages, bots, and trolls can distort views.”