Today, December 7th, 2022, there were arrests in Germany in a major raid on the Reichsbürger scene: They believed in the “deep state” and were planning a coup. Some of them owned guns legally. Several thousand police officers went out early in the morning to arrest suspects who were preparing for “Day X”.
In the press release from the Federal Prosecutor General, you should really read this , it was explained why there were large raids against suspects from the Reichsbürger and lateral thinking scene in Germany. Such investigations make it clear how dangerous conspiracy myths and anti-democratic false reports are.
Social media has a bad influence on democracy
Now there's a survey from the Pew Research Center that shows social media is having a bad impact on democracy! People in 19 countries, including the United States, Germany, France, Israel, Great Britain, Australia, and Canada, were surveyed. A median of 57 percent of participants see negative consequences from the social web. 35 percent. Only 34 percent of US participants believe that Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are good for democracy.
Echo chambers are booming
More people from the United States than any other country surveyed see greater political division. 79 percent of Americans surveyed estimate that the Internet and social media have led people to only accept their own political opinions - so there is an insurmountable divide. 69 percent think the internet and social media have made people less polite when discussing politics.
The rise of social media platforms has turned these virtual spaces into discussion spaces for politics and social issues. Numerous studies have shown that the echo chambers that form on these platforms, along with the spread of disinformation and the potential for political surveillance, seriously undermine democracy. Most participants in the current survey also see this danger. This was especially true when it comes to the spread of misinformation.
The boom in fake news
A median of 84 percent of survey respondents across countries say social media and access to the Internet have made it easier to manipulate people with rumors and false information. 70 percent of all study participants see the spread of misinformation as a major threat.
Source and study: Pew Research Center , pte
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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 )

