AfD investigates possible leak of hundreds of thousands of emails
The German party confirms a hack at a hosting provider, but says the scale and authenticity of the publication have not yet been established.
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The AfD is investigating the online publication of emails and documents attributed to the party. The party says a hosting provider was hacked in September, but stresses that, according to its account, current mailboxes belonging to the national leadership were not affected.
According to the platform's administrators, hundreds of thousands of emails and internal documents attributed to the AfD have appeared online. German media reported that the publication became known on Monday. The party says it is still investigating whether the material genuinely came from the affected mailboxes and how extensive the possible data theft was.
The AfD says the attack targeted a hosting provider that worked for the party. According to an internal notice to regional branches, parts of several mailboxes were copied. Most of the affected mailboxes are said to have been barely used, or not used at all, for years.
The party also says the attack was discovered and stopped quickly. Users of the affected accounts are said to have been informed. The current email inboxes of the national AfD leadership are said to have remained outside the incident. These statements come from the party and have not been independently confirmed.
The scale of the online publication has likewise not been established. BILD writes, based on an initial limited inspection, that it could involve 421,179 emails, with a total size of 281 gigabytes. Those figures did not come from the AfD and could not be independently verified by the newspaper.
The matter is politically sensitive because the AfD is a national party and the material may contain internal communications, membership data or other personal data. The publication of possibly stolen data does not automatically establish that all the documents are authentic or that all the people named were involved in the hack.
For the time being, it is not known who was behind the attack, precisely when which data was taken, or whether the publication has consequences for ongoing political or legal cases. The AfD says it is investigating the online dissemination. The scale and authenticity of the publication have not yet been independently confirmed.
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One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The AfD says a hosting provider was hacked in September.
- Material attributed to the party has been published online.
- The party is investigating the scale and authenticity of the data.
- The identity of the attackers is unknown.
Left
Arguments A data breach at a major political party should be viewed primarily in terms of the protection of personal data and the possible harm to members, staff and political opponents. The publication of stolen material must not be confused with journalistic exposure.
Values Privacy, legal protection, transparency and protection against intimidation.
Consequences Careless dissemination can expose individuals and further harden public debate; at the same time, independent investigation may be needed to establish abuses.
Centre
Arguments The institutional approach consists of an independent forensic investigation, rapid notification of those affected and restraint in republishing personal data. Only then can the political significance of the leak be established.
Values The rule of law, proportionality, information security and verifiability.
Consequences This may mean less clarity temporarily, but reduces the risk of wrong conclusions and further harm.
Right
Arguments A party that claims political responsibility must also take responsibility for securing its communications. At the same time, a hack must not be used to declare the party as a whole guilty of the contents of unverified documents.
Values Responsibility, order, property rights and equal treatment.
Consequences The party may suffer reputational damage and security risks, while selectively leaked documents could undermine trust in elections and institutions.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved with corrections · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The core claim — a hack at a hosting provider confirmed by the AfD and a subsequent online publication — is supported by two German media reports. The alleged scale and authenticity of the leak have not been independently confirmed and are therefore explicitly presented as unproven.
- confirmed An AfD hosting provider was hacked in September 2026. — The AfD statement is reported by B.Z. and BILD. source
- uncertain Hundreds of thousands of emails and internal documents attributed to the AfD have been published online. — The claim comes from the administrators of the publication platform; B.Z. reports that the AfD is still investigating the authenticity. source
- uncertain The figure could be 421,179 emails and 281 gigabytes. — These figures were reported by BILD but have not been independently verified. source
- confirmed According to the party, the current mailboxes of the AfD federal executive were not affected. — This is stated in the AfD statement cited by B.Z. and BILD. source
- confirmed The identity of the perpetrators is unknown. — None of the sources consulted names a suspect or responsible group. source
1 correction(s) applied
- Was: The headlines reported that hundreds of thousands of internal AfD emails had been published.Now: According to the platform's administrators, hundreds of thousands of emails and documents attributed to the AfD have appeared online; their scale and authenticity are still being investigated. (The sources do not independently confirm the publication.)
Editor's note
It is certain that the AfD has confirmed a hack at a hosting provider in September and that material online is attributed to the party. The scale, authenticity, origin and perpetrators have not been independently established; moreover, the available reporting comes from a limited number of German media sources.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- De Telegraaf — „afd duitsland”
- AD — „afd duitsland”
- de Volkskrant — „afd duitsland”