16 German politicians' sudden deaths before elections spark conspiracy theories
What's the story
As many as 16 candidates for local elections in Germany have died one after the other in recent days, sparking conspiracy theories across the country and on social media. Seven of the deceased belonged to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The others hailed from various political groups, including the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Free Democratic Party (FDP), Greens, Animal Welfare Party, and more.
Deaths
'Statistically almost impossible'
Four of the seven AfD candidates reportedly died over the span of 13 days. German police said there is no evidence of foul play in any of the deaths. Nonetheless, the death toll among AfD candidates has spawned numerous conspiracies and unfounded theories implying that the deaths were intentional. The party's co-leader Alice Weidel shared a claim by retired economist Stefan Homburg, who said the number of deaths was "statistically almost impossible."
Conspiracy theories
Speculation on social media
According to euro news, known disinformation operators have since amplified the situation. These include British far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson, who remarked on X, "WTF is going on here?" Elon Musk replied to Robinson's post, "Weird." Musk had previously endorsed AfD in the run-up to February's federal ballot, in which AfD finished second with 20.8% of the vote, a record for the party in national elections.
Investigation progress
Police investigation
The police have investigated the first four deaths and found no signs of foul play. They confirmed that these deaths were due to natural causes, although the exact reasons are kept private by the families. Voters in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia will elect district, municipal, and city councils, as well as some mayors, out of an estimated 20,000 candidates on September 14.
Election disruption
Ballots have had to be redrawn and reprinted
Due to the candidate deaths, ballots have had to be redrawn and reprinted. Some postal voters will also have to vote again. Ahead of the North Rhine-Westphalia elections, EuroVerify, a team of journalists specialized in fact-checking and debunking conspiracy theories, identified hundreds of posts on Instagram, TikTok, X, and Facebook that suggested the seven candidates' deaths were suspicious, getting tens of millions of views.