German Economy Minister Habeck falls in love with Russian trolls

A man pretends to be the African Union representative to Federal Economy Minister Robert Habeck. The politician falls into the trap. Is there reason to worry now?

Russian trolls specializing in disinformation lured Federal Economy Minister Robert Habeck into making a fake phone call. In response to a request from the German News Agency, the Federal Ministry of Economy confirmed that a similar conversation had taken place. According to the ministry, the caller pretended to be a representative of the African Union in the phone call.

Information about security or confidentiality was not part of the conversation. This was interrupted several times due to technical problems with the line, such that a coherent conversation could not be had.

According to a ministry spokesperson, the four-minute recording posted by the two trolls on Telegram is a compilation. The comprehensive conversation presented, nor the questions asked there, nor the attached answers have not been confirmed, according to a ministry spokesman.

In the alleged recording, you can hear, among other things, Habeck calmly explaining in English that Ukraine should be helped to export its grain despite Russian attacks.

Shortly after the call, the ministry said it had received information from German intelligence services. They indicated that the call was made under a false identity and a fake call to Hapik resulted. The Ministry then analyzed the facts and assigned them to them. The incident was used as an opportunity to review and tighten existing security loops.

EPA/TOCO