“This Overlooked Justice International True Story combines an exclusive firsthand account from a citizen in Germany with independently sourced reporting about the September 2026 Sachsen-Anhalt election.”

The votes have been counted in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany.

But for some of the people living there, the election did not end when the polls closed.

Fear began after the vote.

On September 6, 2026, the Alternative für Deutschland — AfD — won a historic victory in the German state of Sachsen-Anhalt.

The AfD received approximately 44% of the vote, more than twice the support of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU, which received about 17%. The result brought a far-right party closer to governing a German state than at any point since World War II, although the AfD did not win an outright parliamentary majority. (Reuters)

But Overlooked Justice wanted to understand something election statistics cannot tell us:

What does it feel like to live there right now?

 RELATED VIDEO — The Guardian: The Far-Right Makes History in Germany

Watch:

The Guardian examines the AfD’s historic result and asks what happens next in Germany.

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A Citizen In Germany Speaks To Overlooked Justice

Following the election, a German citizen contacted Overlooked Justice and described what she says she is experiencing around her.

In her own words:

“The elections in Sachsen Anhalt are over and the far right wing party (with help of Musk, Trump, Putin) won. Not absolutely, but almost… the people are very afraid.

For me it’s a crime, that such a party can win here- after our history…”

The statement about Musk, Trump and Putin represents her personal assessment.

Later in this story, we examine what can — and cannot — be independently documented about those connections.

But her description of fear is not isolated.

Reuters interviewed Holocaust survivor Eva Umlauf after the election. Umlauf described herself as appalled and saddened by the result and expressed concern about what the AfD’s rise could mean for minorities. (Reuters)

Reuters separately documented anxiety among immigrants in Sachsen-Anhalt, including people questioning whether they have a future in the state. (Reuters)

“Fear Is Around Us”

Our contact continued:

“They made a church service two hours ago for people like me.

To be together, the church is also under fire of the Nazis…”

Overlooked Justice uses AfD or far-right in its factual reporting. The reference to “Nazis” is the citizen’s own description and reflects her personal feelings about what she sees happening around her.

She also described action by members of Germany’s immigrant community:

“the immigrants made a strike – all shops, docs, nurses… with immigration background were striking for half a day..

But nothing helped.”

And then her message changed from politics to something much more personal:

“Am sad, because this is only the beginning. It will get worse.

Fear is around us.

Now these views around.. Who is watching, listning.”

Those words deserve attention.

Because underneath every election map are human beings.

Some celebrated the results.

Others were frightened by them.

Some believe Germany is finally changing in the direction they want.

Others fear what that change could mean for themselves, their families and their country.

Those very different realities are now occupying the same communities.

Germany’s History Makes This Different

Germany’s relationship with far-right politics cannot be separated from its history.

That does not mean Germany in 2026 is Germany in the 1930s.

Nor does voting for a modern political party automatically make every voter a Nazi.

But Germany’s history helps explain why the political rise of the AfD produces an emotional reaction unlike an ordinary change between governing parties.

That historical context helps explain our contact’s statement:

“For me it’s a crime, that such a party can win here- after our history…”

She isn’t writing from Washington.

She isn’t watching Germany through an American television network.

She is there.

And her concerns echo those expressed publicly by other Germans and minority communities following the election. (Reuters)

Two Very Different Germanys After One Election

There is another side of this story that cannot be ignored.

Millions of voters deliberately supported the AfD.

The party has campaigned heavily on immigration, asylum, dissatisfaction with established political institutions and Germany’s relationship with Russia.

The AfD says it opposes uncontrolled and illegal immigration rather than immigrants generally. AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said after the election that people who contribute positively to German society, work, pay taxes and obey the law are welcome.

Critics and immigrant organizations argue that the party’s broader rhetoric and proposed policies are contributing to a climate of fear among minorities. (Reuters)

Same election.

Same country.

Same communities.

Completely different interpretations of what the result means.

 RELATED VIDEO — DW News: Germany After the Far-Right Victory

Watch:

DW News examines Germany’s political environment following the far-right result and the confrontation facing Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

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Then America Entered The Conversation

The election quickly crossed the Atlantic.

President Donald Trump publicly praised the AfD’s success and attributed the result to Germany’s immigration policies.

Reuters reported that Trump described the AfD as having had a “really big night” and criticized Germany’s immigration rules.

The German government responded that foreign leaders’ intervention or commentary regarding German domestic politics and elections was unacceptable. (Reuters)

Trump’s reaction occurred after the election, so it should not be portrayed as evidence that he produced the result.

But the reaction illustrates something larger:

A regional German election immediately became part of an American political conversation.

Elon Musk And The AfD

Elon Musk’s involvement in the German political conversation predates this election.

His support for the AfD is documented.

In 2025, Musk publicly endorsed the party and hosted AfD leader Alice Weidel for a discussion on X.

Reuters reported that Musk had written:

“AfD is the only hope for Germany.”

The European Commission was monitoring the Musk-Weidel discussion because of concerns surrounding misinformation and potential manipulation during Germany’s election period, while also recognizing Musk’s right to express political opinions. (Reuters)

That distinction matters.

There is not evidence establishing that:

Elon Musk caused the AfD to win Sachsen-Anhalt.

But there is evidence establishing that:

Elon Musk publicly supported the AfD.

And that raises a distinctly twenty-first-century question:

What happens when one of the world’s wealthiest individuals owns a major global communications platform and simultaneously uses that platform to advocate political positions in another country?

Is Germany Following “The U.S. Formula?”

That brings us to the question in the title of this story.

Is Germany following the U.S. formula?

It is a question — not a conclusion.

Germany and the United States have profoundly different histories, political systems, institutions and cultures.

But some developments occurring across modern democracies deserve examination.

Immigration has become a defining political issue.

Distrust of established institutions has increased among portions of the electorate.

Economic frustration is influencing political movements.

Traditional media no longer controls political communication.

Social media allows politicians and political movements to bypass journalists entirely.

Foreign actors can participate in another country’s information environment.

Billionaires can own platforms used for political communication.

And now artificial intelligence can create political material that looks and sounds increasingly real.

The question isn’t whether Germany is becoming America.

The question is whether some of the technological and political forces that have transformed American political communication are becoming global.

Russia: What We Know — And What We Don’t

Our German contact specifically mentioned Putin.

That requires careful reporting.

There is not sufficient evidence to state that Vladimir Putin caused the AfD’s Sachsen-Anhalt victory.

Overlooked Justice will not present that as established fact.

However, the AfD favors restoring closer relations with Russia and ending German support for Ukraine, positions that distinguish it sharply from Germany’s current government. Reuters describes the party as sympathetic toward Russia. (Reuters)

Separate from the AfD’s electoral support, German authorities and researchers have also investigated Russian-linked disinformation operations targeting Germany.

That distinction is critical:

Political sympathy toward Russia and a Russian disinformation operation are not automatically the same thing.

Neither establishes that Russia determined the election.

The more defensible question is whether German voters — like American voters — are increasingly making democratic choices inside a global information environment where domestic politics, foreign influence and technology can overlap.

Then Comes Artificial Intelligence

This may ultimately become one of the most consequential parts of this story.

Because misinformation no longer has to look fake.

AI can make it look real.

A political operative once needed actors, television equipment, editors and a distribution network to manufacture convincing visual propaganda.

Today, artificial intelligence can dramatically lower those barriers.

AI can potentially create:

A photograph of an event that never happened.

A voice someone never recorded.

A video showing something a politician never did.

A person who doesn’t exist.

A news report a journalist never wrote.

And automated systems can potentially repeat or amplify those messages at enormous scale.

This is not merely a German question.

Americans are confronting it too.

 RELATED VIDEO — NBC News: AI And Election Misinformation Fears In America

Watch:

NBC News examines concerns surrounding artificial intelligence and election misinformation in the United States — showing why the questions raised by Germany extend far beyond Germany.

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Humanity vs AI

This is where this Overlooked Justice International True Story intersects directly with another investigation:

HUMANITY vs AI

There is no credible evidence establishing that artificial intelligence elected the AfD.

That is not our claim.

The question is larger.

What happens when human beings make democratic decisions inside an information environment increasingly populated by artificial content?

AI-generated content does not operate in isolation.

Algorithms determine what gets recommended.

Social-media companies determine distribution systems.

Private individuals can own those platforms.

Politicians can communicate through them.

Foreign influence operations can attempt to exploit them.

Artificial intelligence can generate content for them.

And ordinary citizens are left staring at their screens trying to answer one increasingly difficult question:

WHAT IS REAL?

AI Is Already Part Of The Political Equation

There is another connection between AI and the Sachsen-Anhalt story that has little to do with misinformation.

The AfD itself is proposing increased use of artificial intelligence and automation.

Reuters reports that the party’s state election manifesto proposes encouraging businesses to use AI and automation instead of relying upon some forms of foreign skilled migration. (Reuters)

Think about the intersection.

Immigration.

Jobs.

AI.

National identity.

Political power.

They are no longer separate conversations.

They are beginning to collide.

That makes Germany especially relevant to Overlooked Justice’s upcoming Humanity vs AI investigation.

After The Vote

Democracy doesn’t end when ballots are counted.

Sometimes that is when its most difficult questions begin.

Our contact’s final words continue to resonate:

“Fear is around us.

Now these views around.. Who is watching, listning.”

Perhaps those words are bigger than Germany.

Americans have watched their own families, friendships and communities become divided over politics.

Social media has transformed political communication.

Algorithms increasingly influence which information reaches people.

Artificial intelligence is entering that environment at extraordinary speed.

And political movements no longer stop at national borders.

A statement made in Washington can reach Germany instantly.

A message posted in Germany can reach millions of Americans.

A billionaire can speak directly to another country’s electorate.

A foreign influence operation can manufacture false stories.

AI can manufacture images, voices and video.

Algorithms can distribute them.

And humans still have to decide what to believe.

So perhaps the question isn’t simply:

What happened in Germany?

Perhaps Americans should also be asking:

ARE WE LOOKING AT A GERMAN ELECTION —

OR THE GLOBALIZATION OF A POLITICAL FORMULA WE ALREADY RECOGNIZE?

The answer cannot come from propaganda.

It cannot come from misinformation.

And it cannot come from artificial intelligence pretending to be human.

It must come from verified facts, open dialogue and the voices of the people actually living through it.

Because after the vote, those people still have to live beside one another.

And one German citizen has already told Overlooked Justice what she feels around her:

“Fear is around us.”

The world should listen.

— IAMV