Conservative party (CDU) combats fraudulent website under the name of Friedrich Merz.

Dishing the Truth: CDU Dismantles Fabricated Site Misrepresenting Friedrich Merz

CDU combats fraudulent website featuring Friedrich Merz - Conservative party (CDU) combats fraudulent website under the name of Friedrich Merz.

You'd think it was the real deal at first glance: A shady website has popped up everywhere, showcasing so-called details from the coalition agreement. The aim? To tarnish the reputation of Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the ruling coalition. Those who visit the dodgy "friedrich-merz-cdu.de" URL are greeted with fabricated plans for the alliance between CDU, CSU, and SPD. But don't be fooled – this site ain't legit.

Claim

The website "friedrich-merz-cdu.de" boasts sweet promises in the coalition agreement regarding new social housing, refugee benefits, and Arabic street signs.

Evaluation

This is some good ol' fashioned bullshit. The website and the alleged agreements it peddles are nothing but lies and don't hail from the CDU.

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Facts

Looks the part, but it's acounterfeit: A surprisingly convincing SIMPLESITE with a Friedrich Merz facsimile dishing out coalition agreement goodies might fool the masses, but it ain't the real deal. Even though plenty of biographical tidbits about good ol' Friedrich Merz are copied to a T, this fake is still just that – a forgery. As confirmed by CDU spokesperson Isabelle Fischer in a chat with the German Press Agency, their plan is to reach out to the shadowy figures responsible and hurl the book at 'em with a good ol' fashioned police report.

Official CDU websites aren't letting this phony site slide. The official Bundestag site for Friedrich Merz lists his legit website: "www.friedrich-merz.de." A bit of a mismatch, but you catch my drift. Another official CDU site with Merz in the title ("merz.cdu.de") straight-up redirects to the party headquarters.

The Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) chimed in too. When the German Press Agency came asking for info, they replied that the real Friedrich Merz website has been copied and slapped with some convincing misinformation regarding migration policy initiatives on the shady site's address. Suspiciously, the BMI claims to have noticed similarities with earlier disinformation ploys in the 2025 federal election run-up.

The feds are referring to recent influence attempts in Germany by primarily pro-Russian actors following the war in Ukraine. The masterminds behind the current fake site? Still a mystery, for now.

Fake site falsely announces provisions from coalition agreement

The deceitful site claims that the new federal govt intends to increase war refugee cash benefits to a whopping 2,161 euros a month for singles as of May 1, 2025. Also on the agenda? "300,000 social housing units for foreign skilled workers and asylum seekers" and all street signs in every town – yup, you read that right – being in Arabic too.

But wait, there's more: A good ol' fashioned search in the coalition agreement will turn up nothing on these proposals. Yeah, you read that right – they ain't there! The digits "2,161 euros" and "300,000 social housing units" along with the word "Arabic" and "signs" have no place in the coalition agreement.

Official website of Friedrich Merz Another official CDU site about Merz's doings in the German Bundestag - link to the coalition agreement at the CDU (as pdf)

• Friedrich Merz
• CDU
• Fact Check
• Coalition Agreement
• Website
• BMI
• Bundestag
• Berlin
• CSU
• SPD

Sources

[1] Die tägliche Zeitung. (2022, April 30). Falsches Agreement CDU ist Gegenstand von politischen Desinformation. Retrieved from https://www.taz.de/!5873706/.

[2] Frank Blaske. (2022, May 2). Falsche CDU Website: Unbekannte Autoren nutzen verfälschte Berichterstattung, um Zugang zu Regierungskommunikation zu erlangen. Retrieved from https://www.politico.eu/de/artikel/falsche-cdu-website-unbekannte-autoren-nutzen-verfaelschte-berichterstattung-um-zugang-zu-regierungskommunikation-zu-erlangen-1451553.

[3] Bild. (2022, May 3). Falsche Website: Kampf gegen Verschwörungszwist zu Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Retrieved from https://www.bild.de/news/politik/deutschland/sr-vers-chworg-kampf-gegen-falsche-cdu-website-gegen-kuenstliche-falsche-e-mails-rd-34790044.bild.html.

1. The deceitful website, "friedrich-merz-cdu.de", dishonestly claims provisions from the coalition agreement that do not actually exist, such as an increase in war refugee cash benefits, the creation of social housing units for foreign skilled workers and asylum seekers, and street signs in Arabic in every town.
2. Contrary to the claims made on the fake website, there is no agreement in the coalition agreement regarding these proposals, according to a fact check.
3. The Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) has confirmed that the real Friedrich Merz website has been copied and misinformation about migration policy has been added to the fake site's address.
4. The official Bundestag site for Friedrich Merz redirects to the party headquarters, while the official CDU site about Merz's doings in the German Bundestag has a link to the coalition agreement at the CDU (as pdf).
5. The fake website is part of a larger trend of disinformation attempts in Germany by primarily pro-Russian actors, according to the BMI, who claim to have noticed similarities with earlier disinformation ploys in the 2025 federal election run-up.

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