Claim
False
“The Ghostwriter phishing operation changed the result of Germany’s 2021 federal election”
Reviewed September 22, 2026
Verdict
False. The operation sought login credentials from politicians, not access to the count — Germany uses hand-counted paper ballots. The SPD-led result stood and Olaf Scholz formed a government.
What the evidence shows
ResearchHeinrich Böll StiftungSeptember 29, 2021
A brief analysis of the German federal election 2021OriginalArchived
JournalismCyberScoopSeptember 2021
Hackers target German lawmakers in an election yearOriginalArchived
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Published September 22, 2026
September 22, 2026Published1579e19e
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