Why Are Young Germans Moving to the Extremes?
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You're listening to State of the World from NPR, with the day's most vital international stories up close where they're happening. I'm Greg Dixon.

Germany had a national election a few weeks ago. And one statistic from that poll stood out to NPR's Berlin correspondent Rob Schmitz. Nearly half of German voters between the ages of 18 and 24 cast their ballot for either the party on the far right of German politics or the one on the far left. So Rob tried to find out why. Thank you very much and welcome to the demo of the German election.

Tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of Berlin on International Women's Day. Many of them young women like 24-year-old Elina Wuttke. I feel that society is becoming more and more polarized, says Wuttke. You can see it in the election results, whether it's between young and old or men and women. It's all divided.

Vutka reflects this division too. She was among 35% of women between the age of 18 and 24 who voted for the far-left Die Linke Party, a party that has its roots in the Cold War era East German Communist Party, a party that advocates for a socialist state, aims to root out capitalism, and is staunchly anti-military.

Fellow marcher Cecilia Bartlewski voted for the party too. I voted for them because they demand the super-rich be taxed at the same level as the average earner, says Bartlewski. They're also supportive of women and they fight against policies made to benefit rich white cis men.

And while young German women voted in droves for the far left, more than a quarter of young German men voted for the Far Right Alternative for Germany, or AFD party, a party whose members rail against immigrants, repeat Nazi slogans, and support Russia in its war in Ukraine.

Political communications strategist Johannes Hillier says these results seem baffling, but he thinks he knows why both German men and women are heading to parties on the political extremes. And this is first because they offer really clear positions in a very complex political environment. Second, they are seen as anti-elite.

And especially the youth has been pretty upset with the political elite in the past years. But Hillius says perhaps the most important reason for young voters heading to the extremes are the devices they are holding in their hands. Both parties are pretty successful on social media. Both parties are actually the frontrunners when it comes to reach on social media.

TikTok especially, but also on other channels. The far-right AFD has excelled at using social media to spread its message, says Hillier. Real men are right. Real men have ideals. Real men are patriots. Then it works with your friends.

A viral social media post shows AFD politician Maximilian Krah saying, real men are right-wing, real men have ideals, real men are patriots. That, says Krah, is how to get a girlfriend. And then there's German right-wing social media influencer Phenom Naomi Zeibt. I am proud to be German, and it's okay to be proud to be German.

Zype's posts, many in English, have had a far-reaching influence, extending to a key advisor inside the White House. It's okay to be proud to be German. This is a very important principle. That's Elon Musk reciting word for word one of 24-year-old Naomi Zype's popular social media posts to an AFD rally last year.

Zypt has been nicknamed the Musk whisperer for her influence on the Tesla founder. And comm strategist Hilliay says her influence due to her English posts have made waves across the Atlantic. Naomi Zypt is building a bridge between the far right in the U.S. and the far right in Germany. And she became, I would say, a translator of German politics for Elon Musk because she was posting in English using AFD narratives.

Hillius says traditional German political discourse lacks emotion, but the messaging from both the far right and the far left over social media is full of emotion. So much, he says, that it's become manipulative. It's a style, he thinks, that is turning politics in Germany and throughout Europe into entertainment rather than how to effectively run a government. That was Rob Schmitz with reporting from NPR's Esme Nicholson. And that's the state of the world from NPR. Thanks for listening.

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