The power of social media is double-edged. They are useful tools for quick communication, but they can also become a place of disinformation and confusion. Recently, the claim that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had published a controversial tweet about the start of the men's 2nd Bundesliga and the women's World Cup caused a stir. It's about this tweet:
“Annalena Baerbock’s” tweet as verbatim:
“The fabulous Women's World Cup is currently underway, but the toxic men's 2nd Bundesliga starts today anyway. This again shows the patriarchal structures in Germany. I am therefore calling for a boycott of the game @HSV against @s04 (runs at 8:15 p.m. on free TV on SAT1).”
Our fact check and research revealed: It is a fake account!
| Claims | Fact check |
|---|---|
| Annalena Baerbock posted a tweet about the 2nd Bundesliga and the Women's World Cup. | Wrong : It turned out that the tweet did not come from the Secretary of State's official account, but from a parody account. |
| The tweet was posted by a verified account. | True : Due to mobile view limitations, the full account name, which included the word “PARODY,” was partially truncated and was not immediately recognizable. |
| The tweet called for a boycott of the games between @HSV and @s04 and criticized the patriarchal structures in German football. | Wrong : Since this was a parody account, the tweet does not represent the official position of Annalena Baerbock or the Foreign Office. |
| The account was recognizable as a parody on mobile devices. | True : Due to mobile view limitations, the full account name, which included the word “PARODY,” was partially truncated and was not immediately recognizable. |
The tweet that made waves
The core of the incident was a tweet that allegedly came from German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. The tweet called for a boycott of the game between @HSV and @s04, arguing that the game was an expression of patriarchal structures in Germany, especially in comparison to the ongoing Women's World Cup. At first glance, the tweet seemed to come from Baerbock's official website, as the account name corresponded to that of the Foreign Minister. However, upon closer inspection, the source turned out to be a parody, a fake account.
The truth behind the account
Well, the fake account puzzle is a bit more complicated as the account name is slightly truncated when displayed on mobile devices.

As a result, the word "PARODY" that appeared next to the account's name did not appear to be immediately recognizable.

To add to the confusion, screenshots emerged showing the famous “blue check” verification next to the name. In reality, this tick wasn't visible when looking directly at the profile. It seems likely that the screenshots were manipulated to make it appear that the account was verified.

The effect of disinformation
The fallout from this incident is another example of how easily misinformation can spread in the age of social media. The controversy that the fake tweet sparked cast a shadow over the sport and the political landscape. Some users followed the supposed call for a boycott and took up the supposed criticism of the patriarchal structure of football, while others sharply criticized the opinion of the “Foreign Minister”.
How to identify fake accounts
This incident should serve as an important lesson in media literacy . Here are some tips on how to recognize fake accounts:
- Check the username and display name: Often fake accounts use similar but not identical names or usernames. Watch out for strange characters or changes in spelling. The fake account is: https://twitter.com/ baerbockpress and the real account of the foreign ministries: https://twitter.com/ ABaerbock
- Look for the blue tick: The blue tick next to the name is an indicator that the account is verified. Although this is no longer certain, because anyone can now buy this hook! But be careful, screenshots can be manipulated.
- Examine the profile picture: Fake accounts often use stolen or generic images. A quick image search can help determine if the image was copied from somewhere else.
- Check the account's activity: Fake accounts often have unusual activity patterns, such as sending large amounts of tweets in a short period of time or lacking interactions with other users.
Conclusion
In recent days there has been a lot of excitement surrounding a tweet that allegedly came from German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. The tweet called for people to boycott a soccer match and support the Women's World Cup instead. But that wasn't her. The tweet came from a fake account that only looked like it was from her. Some people even thought the account was real because they saw screenshots with a "blue tick" that usually indicates an account is verified. But that wasn't true either - the catch wasn't there when you looked at the account directly. This shows that we need to be very careful when viewing and sharing information on social media. It's always important to check if something is true before reacting or sharing it.
Also read:
- Fact check: Annalena Baerbock, the widow's pension and the nude photos
- Annalena Baerbock: Wrong quote about pet ban
- Fake: Carnival float with Annalena Baerbock
- Annalena Baerbock and George Soros – an enemy image emerges
- Annalena Baerbock: False quote about widow's pension is spreading again on TikTok
- Annalena Baerbock did not call for electric cars to be charged with fiber optic cables
- Baerbock quote about keeping pets is a FAKE!
- “Offer ravioli to the other person” – not a Baerbock quote!
- Baerbock, Habeck and Lindner in a youth photo? - No!
- Baerbock and the floor lamp – a rare, stupid fake
- Photo of Baerbock and Lavrov is not from the G20 meeting
- No, Baerbock is not planning a famine in Germany!
- Baerbock in Ukraine: Media-effective dummy car for a mine clearance project?
- Baerbock photos: old pictures in the wrong context!
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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

