{"id":538971,"date":"2026-07-08T09:41:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T09:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/538971\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T09:41:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T09:41:07","slug":"ai-software-that-generates-rage-bait-developed-by-germanys-far-right-afd-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/538971\/","title":{"rendered":"AI software that generates \u2018rage bait\u2019 developed by Germany\u2019s far-right AfD \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The far-right <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/alternative-for-germany\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/alternative-for-germany\/\">Alternative for Germany<\/a> (AfD) has developed a new software suite, driven by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/google\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/google\/\">Google <\/a>Gemini, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/openai\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/openai\/\">Open AI<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/anthropic\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/anthropic\/\">Anthropic<\/a>\u2019s Claude, that helps party members generate so-called \u201crage bait\u201d social media postings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Central to the new campaign is the Alternita platform, registered to the AfD\u2019s general secretary Hans-Holger Malcome\u00df, which promises users social media posts \u201cin five minutes, with your positions, in your style, your branding\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">In the case of the AfD, an undercover investigation by Germany\u2019s Correctiv outlet revealed how, in a few clicks, a populist article can be turned into provocative posts to flood social media feeds. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Posing as an AfD regional party member, the Correctiv journalist was given an online tour of the new suite by Mario Hau, social media chief of the AfD Bundestag parliamentary party. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The version of the software Hau demonstrated in a Zoom call automatically pulled in  news feeds from AfD-friendly far-right news outlets. When given access to a test account, the Correctiv journalist uploaded an article from reactionary news site Nius about rescinding citizenship awarded to immigrants living in Germany. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The journalist asked the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/artificial-intelligence\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/artificial-intelligence\/\">AI<\/a> software suite to generate posts based on the story, demanding \u201cconsequential and involuntary remigration\u201d, or forced deportations, to prevent \u201cethnic elections\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The software spat out content, ready for all large social media platforms, demanding \u201can immediate halt to naturalisations and the consistent revocation of unlawful naturalisations to prevent ethnic voting blocs and protect our homeland. #Homeland #Identity #That\u2019sWhyAfD.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Left alone with a test account, the Correctiv reporters had no problems uploading an article from a neo-Nazi magazine to generate a post warning of an LGBT \u201crainbow dictatorship\u201d, accompanied by an AI-generated image of a burning rainbow flag.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">According to Correctiv, the software is already in use on the social media channels of AfD co-leader Alice Weidel, where it notes that not all AI-generated content posted through Alternita is flagged as such.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph b-it-article-body__interstitial-link\">[\u00a0<a aria-label=\"Open related story\" class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/world\/europe\/2026\/07\/03\/german-police-brace-for-unrest-as-far-right-afd-edges-closer-to-power\/\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">German police brace for unrest as far-right AfD edges closer to powerOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Another AfD figure who appears to be testing the software is a satirical, fictional politician account of \u201cKarl Ranseier\u201d, self-described \u201cfederal minister for remigration\u201d. The AI politician\u2019s Twitter\/X feed, apparently operated by AfD social media chief  Hau and followed by  Weidel, is filled with AI-generated images showing a \u201cMinistry for Truth\u201d, dark-skinned men boarding a train to a \u201cdeportation airport\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The party says the software, launched in pilot phase this week, will be ready for full implementation next year. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The AfD is  Germany\u2019s most popular political party and is polling 40 per cent in one eastern federal state that chooses a new state parliament in September.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The apparent aim of Alternita is to allow AfD headquarters to control messaging in a subtle way without hindering its decentralised army of followers and activists generating posts that attract attention and help the AfD maintain its considerable online lead on rivals. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Hau told the undercover reporter that the software\u2019s content foundation was the current party programme.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cThe whole thing is tailor-made for the AfD,\u201d he said, according to Correctiv. The investigative platform dug into Alternita\u2019s source code and found that, at its heart, the AfD software suite draws on Google Gemini, OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT and Anthropic Claude \u2013 three leading AI engines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The Correctiv investigative team approached the tech companies to ask if the AfD\u2019s use of their engines to generate political propaganda and fake news was in line with their terms of use.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Google and OpenAI said they are each examining Alternita\u2019s use of their engines while Anthropic did not reply to the Correctiv query.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has developed a new software suite, driven by Google Gemini, Open AI&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":538972,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[109145,220,3673,218,219,2670,2210,292,1711,61,60,1682,80],"class_list":["post-538971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-afd-alternative-for-germany","tag-ai","tag-anthropic","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-chatgpt","tag-gemini","tag-germany","tag-google","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-openai","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/538972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}