Magdeburg Attack: Unpacking Misinformation and Political Instrumentalization

Following the attack at the Christmas market in Magdeburg on December 20, "20,000 Germans" allegedly marched through the city streets, "protesting open-door immigration policies and demanding mass deportations."

On December 20, a car drove into a crowd of people at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, killing five people and injuring about 200. Local authorities described the incident as a terror attack.

The driver of the car, now under arrest, is Taleb Al Abdulmohsen, a self-declared “anti-Islam activist” who has been living in Germany since 2006 after fleeing his home country, Saudi Arabia. According to the BBC, which interviewed him in 2019 about a website he created to help Saudi citizens—particularly women—flee the country, he left Saudi Arabia due to its restrictions, citing his “atheist views.” He was granted asylum in 2016 and was working as a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy.

The Unusual Profile of the Magdeburg Christmas Market Attacker

Although Saudi Arabian authorities had previously warned Germany about the potential security threat posed by the man—and had asked for his extradition—Al Abdulmohsen was "off the radar" of extremism and terrorism monitoring. In fact, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser stressed that the attacker did "not fit any previous pattern" because "he acted like an Islamist terrorist although ideologically he was clearly an enemy of Islam."

The man was known to spread anti-Islam and far-right views on his X account, adhering to conspiracy theories about the “Islamization” of Europe and expressing anger toward German politicians and open-border policies.

In his posts, he also shared content about the “threats of Islam” to Germany. Among these was an interview with Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is endorsed by Elon Musk and monitored by intelligence services for its extremist positions.

Additionally, Al Abdulmohsen’s X account includes multiple videos and posts from the far-right X account “Radio Genoa,” emphasizing the dangers of the alleged “Islamization of Europe.”

The unusual profile of the attacker sparked misinformation online regarding his political and ideological views. On December 22, Elon Musk accused "legacy media" that described Al Abdulmohsen as “Islamophobic” of "lying again," implying instead that the attack was Islamist-motivated.

However, to this day, there is no evidence that the attack was Islamist-motivated, and Al Abdulmohsen has no record of links to jihadist groups. "He is a psychologically disturbed person with an exaggerated sense of self-importance," commented Taha Al-Hajji, legal director of the Berlin-based European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights, in an interview with AFP.

Given the contradictory and false narratives about Taleb Al Abdulmohsen and the “information chaos” spread on social media, several German newspapers immediately warned about the possible political instrumentalization of this event by right-wing parties ahead of the federal elections scheduled for February 23, 2025.

Remembrance Events and Far-Right Rallies in Magdeburg

The feared political instrumentalization did not fail to appear. On December 21, a far-right rally drew about 1,000 protesters carrying banners reading “remigration,” a reference to the far-right idea of mass deportation of migrants from European countries.

On December 23, the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) organized another rally, which, according to police, gathered about 3,500 people. Attendees chanted for “deportations!” in Magdeburg’s Domplatz. However, there is no record of protesters numbering as many as 20,000, as claimed by viral posts on X.

According to German journalist Thomas Vorreyer, “in working-class cities such as Magdeburg,” the AfD’s presence—beginning with their “role” as the anti-lockdown party during the COVID-19 pandemic—has provided an opportunity to recreate local “identity via party affiliation.”

Also on December 23, a counter-protest against the AfD’s political exploitation of the attack took place in Magdeburg. Around 4,000 people formed a human chain and lit candles around the Alter Markt in an initiative named “Don’t Give Hate a Chance” to remember the victims of the attack.

It is unsurprising that the far right capitalizes on such events to advance their campaigns. Following the knife attacks in Solingen, Germany, in August 2024, committed by an asylum seeker from Syria, the AfD intensified their longstanding narrative linking crime and immigration as threats, especially ahead of the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia.

However, the striking twist in the Magdeburg case is that the perpetrator of the attack appears to have shared the very views of the Alternative for Germany’s anti-immigrant and Islamophobic ideology.

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