Fake story linked to Russian disinformation group claims German leader killed polar bears in Nunavut

Claims German Chancellor Friedrich Merz killed a polar bear and her cubs in Nunavut appeared in an article on the "Toronto Journal" website in July, and multiple X users shared the story. The story is fake and its accompanying video includes an edited image of Merz and uses an Inuit leader's image out of context. The story and those who shared it have links to the Russian disinformation group Storm-1516.

THE CLAIM

"Friedrich Merz illegally killed a polar bear family during a hunting tour in Canada," reads posted to the "Toronto Journal" website by an unnamed author early this month.

A accompanying the article claims the German chancellor killed a polar bear and her two cubs during a private hunting trip in the small community of Coral Harbour, Nvt.

"According to local guides, Merz began his trip by harvesting a seal," the narrator says as video of the "guide" and a picture of Merz posing with a dead seal flash by.

The video claims "Inuit elders" in Coral Harbour accused Merz of treating the area as a "playground for the rich," and includes an interview with a supposed resident.

"He came here and he broke our law. What he did was not only illegal, it was a violation of everything we believe in," the man says.

The video ends with the claim Nunavut's Department of �� is investigating the incident. While Nunavut issues polar bear hunting licences that come with certain rules, it's illegal to kill bears that are part of a family group.

RATING: Fake

There's no evidence the Merz incident ever happened and the article and video contains false or misleading images and information.

The "Toronto Journal" isn't a reputable media organization and its website pulls headlines, photos and text from the Toronto Star, including the names of real Star reporters.

The only articles without a Star author's byline are the one about Merz, which is authored by the generic "Torontojournal" admin account, plus three other posts that contain nonsensical text.

The site's shows it was created June 18.

The photo of Merz posing with a dead seal is a fake. A reverse image search shows it was an edited version of from a that described a hunting trip in Coral Harbour.

Through a reverse image search, �� confirmed the man implied to be an "Inuit guide" who witnessed Merz's hunt has no relation to the story.

He's actually Johannes Lampe, president of the Nunatsiavut Inuit regional government in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The video uses a clip of Lampe's appearance in a 2023 from a national organization representing Inuit.

A media spokesperson for Nunatsiavut said the clip appeared without Lampe's permission and "is definitely being used out of context as Johannes isn’t a local guide in Nunavut."

�� could not verify the identity of the second man, who called Merz's supposed hunt a "violation."

However, one expert says he could be an actor. That's because the polar bear story, video and website it appears on bear resemblance to the strategies employed by Russian disinformation group Storm-1516.

FAKE STORY LINKED TO RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION GROUP

Storm-1516 is a Russian group that spreads false or misleading information, with a particular focus on narratives about the Ukraine government and its leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Researchers from South Carolina's Clemson University, which first identified the group in 2023, say Storm-1516 is linked to the and individuals such as , a former sheriff’s deputy from Florida who received asylum in Moscow while facing federal charges for extortion and wiretapping in the United States.

The group has historical links to the Internet Research Agency, the "troll farm" for interfering in American elections.

The Gnida Project, an anonymous research group that exposes Russian disinformation campaigns, first on links between the "Toronto Journal" site and Storm-1516 on July 7.

Darren Linvill, co-director of Clemson University's media forensics hub, said there are a few key clues the polar bear story is of Storm-1516 origin.

"They use the same tropes over and over again," he said, pointing to a believed to originate from Storm-1516 about former U.S. vice-president Kamala Harris shooting and killing an endangered black rhino.

Linvill said the second man in the polar bear video, supposedly an "Inuit elder" unhappy with Merz's actions, is likely an actor associated with the group.

"This is absolutely (Storm-1516). The way he's sitting there, the way they've constructed the background," he said.

Linvill and colleagues to spread their messages, which often copy-paste or rewrite stories from other outlets. Among the real news stories are longer-form or multimedia stories that contain Storm-1516 narratives.

Another hint the polar bear story has Storm-1516 connections is those with known links to the group amplified the story on social media.

Linvill said the first account to share the story was @stairwayto3dom on the , formerly Twitter.

"If you look at his account, he has shared a number of stories from the Russian Foundation to Battle Injustice, which is the organization that we believe is behind Storm-1516," he said.

Other accounts known for posting Storm-1516 narratives shared the story on their X accounts @its_The_Dr, with more than 520,000 followers, and self-described independent German journalist , who posted the story in German.

Storm-1516 pays online influencers to spread the group's messages, Linvill said.

"It tends to be a very similar set, sometimes the same individuals, routinely sharing content. And whenever there's someone new that pops up, if you look at their thread over time, you can almost identify the moment that they're brought into the Storm-1516 campaign … because the mix of content changes," he said.

Storm-1516's target audience tends to be right-leaning people in France, Germany and the United States.

"They very often also target … the kinds of politicians that support Western institutionalism. The sort of politician that is going to continue to back NATO," Linvill said.

�� reached out to German officials and Nunavut's Department of �� for comment, and will update this fact check if it receives a response.

SOURCES

Claim originally appeared with headline "Friedrich Merz illegally killed a polar bear family during a hunting tour in Canada." Toronto Journal website. July 4, 2025 (, )

Domain Information - . WhoIs . Accessed July 17, 2025 ()

Original photo of hunter with seal. Mossafari club . Accessed July 17, 2025 ()

Blog post in Russian about hunting trip. Mossafari club website. May 14, 2014 ()

Inuusivut. Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, on . Dec. 1, 2023 (, )

Treasury Sanctions Russian Cyber Actors for Interference with the 2016 U.S. Elections and Malicious Cyber-Attacks. U.S. Department of The Treasury . March 15, 2018 ()

Disinformation update: stolen identities, Armenia in focus, first campaign to target Norway. Gnida Project, via . July 7, 2025 ()

Tim Lister, Saskya Vandoorne, Gianluca Mezzofiore and Avery Schmitz. Russian disinformation network with ties to notorious ‘troll factory’ is taking aim at the US election, analysis finds. CNN . Oct. 30, 2024 ()

Steven Lee Myers. Once a Sheriff’s Deputy in Florida, Now a Source of Disinformation From Russia. The New York Times . May 29, 2024 ()

- co-director of Clemson University's media forensics hub. Interviewed July 16, 2025 ()

Claim about Kamala Harris shooting rhino Sept. 29 2024 ()

Patrick Warren et al. Writers of the Storm: Who's Behind the Ongoing Production of Pro-Russian False Narratives. Media Forensics Hub Creative Inquiry Report. Clemson University . October 2024 ()

Polar bear story shared on X by @stairwayto3dom (), @its_The_Dr () and @Alina_Lipp_X ()

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