Germany investigates publication of election results on Twitter

Germany investigates publication of election results on Twitter

German authorities will investigate the publication on Twitter of the results of a poll at the polls before the end of Sunday’s general election vote.

The results were published on the microblog an hour before polling stations closed, an illegal disclosure in Germany, where this can only happen after polling stations are closed.

According to a spokesman for the Electoral Commission, quoted by AFP, the investigation will try to determine whether the figures given via Twitter were communicated by the poll’s promoters, otherwise, discover the source of such information. Defaulters incur a fine of 50,000 euros.

The main target will be Roland Tichy, editor-in-chief of the economic weekly WirtschaftsWoche, who will have to explain to the German authorities the origin of the numbers he qualified as «rumors» and which he posted on his Twitter account.

This was not the first time that this has happened in Germany, as a similar case had occurred with the regional elections earlier this month.

Twitter has been a resource increasingly used among the intricacies of politics, namely in Portugal. In addition to the growing number of accounts, mention should be made of the microblogging during the afternoon and evening of yesterday, with the legislative elections, by the television stations, written press and by the parties themselves.