BERLIN - In Germany’s 2021 elections, the Green Party’s chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock was a popular target for disinformation. Ms Baerbock, who is now the country’s foreign minister, was painted as a heartless, pet-hating monster and a sex worker.

Ms Baerbock, it was claimed, wanted to ban children from having pets at home to reduce Germany’s carbon footprint. She wanted to give to refugees money drawn from funds meant for widows’ pensions, another story went.