{{Short description|German extremism monitoring agency}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}} {{Infobox organization | name = Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy | formation = {{start date and age|2021|03}} | headquarters = Berlin, Germany<ref name="WaPo" /> | website = {{URL|https://cemas.io}} }}
The '''Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (CeMAS)''' is a German non-profit extremism monitoring agency established in 2021. Its stated focus is on creating an early warning system against conspiracy ideologies, disinformation and far-right extremism.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Kutsche |first=Katharina |date=March 30, 2021 |title=CeMAS: mit digitalen Mitteln gegen Radikalisierung im Netz |trans-title=CeMAS: with digital means against radicalization on the net |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/hassrede-telegram-radikalisierung-1.5250480 |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=Süddeutsche Zeitung |language=de |archive-date=11 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111040204/https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/hassrede-telegram-radikalisierung-1.5250480 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Felden |first1=Esther |last2=Höhn |first2=Anne |date=March 31, 2021 |title=TV chef turned rabble-rouser |url=https://www.dw.com/en/attila-hildmann-tv-chef-turned-covid-rabble-rouser/a-57058697 |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=en |archive-date=11 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111040206/https://www.dw.com/en/attila-hildmann-tv-chef-turned-covid-rabble-rouser/a-57058697 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Kayali |first1=Laura |last2=Scott |first2=Mark |date=2022-03-17 |title=Anti-vax conspiracy groups lean into pro-Kremlin propaganda in Ukraine |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/antivax-conspiracy-lean-pro-kremlin-propaganda-ukraine/ |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=Politico |language=en-US |archive-date=8 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108142246/https://www.politico.eu/article/antivax-conspiracy-lean-pro-kremlin-propaganda-ukraine/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Overview ==
The Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy was established in March 2021 by political data scientist Josef Holnburger<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Loucaides |first1=Darren |last2=Perrone |first2=Alessio |date=10 March 2022 |title=The media giant you've never heard of, and why you should pay attention |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/epoch-times-media-giant-youve-never-heard-of-and-why-you-should-pay-attention/ |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=openDemocracy |language=en |archive-date=6 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206002133/https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/epoch-times-media-giant-youve-never-heard-of-and-why-you-should-pay-attention/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and social psychologist Pia Lamberty, with the intent of developing an early warning system against conspiracy ideologies, disinformation and far-right extremism.<ref name=":0" /> The other founding members are senior researchers Miro Dittrich<!-- Q120555981 --><ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Schumacher |first=Elizabeth |date=February 8, 2022 |title=Disclose.TV: English disinformation made in Germany |url=https://www.dw.com/en/disclosetv-english-disinformation-made-in-germany/a-60694332 |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=en |archive-date=26 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026033034/https://www.dw.com/en/disclosetv-english-disinformation-made-in-germany/a-60694332 |url-status=live }}</ref> and Jan Rathje<!-- Q113737784 -->,<ref>{{Cite web |last=McGrane |first=Sally |date=2022-05-19 |title=Pro-Russian rallies sputter, but still rattle a nervous Germany |url=https://www.codastory.com/rewriting-history/russian-car-rallies-germany/ |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=Coda Media |language=en-US |archive-date=14 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114130803/https://www.codastory.com/rewriting-history/russian-car-rallies-germany/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and cognitive scientist Rocío Rocha Dietz.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bateman |first=Jessica |date=September 13, 2021 |title=Germany Braces for Election Disinformation |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/09/13/germany-election-disinformation-social-media/ |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US |archive-date=14 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114130752/https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/09/13/germany-election-disinformation-social-media/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Rocío Rocha Dietz |url=https://cemas.io/en/team/rocio-rocha-dietz/ |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=CeMAS |language=en |archive-date=17 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517073443/https://cemas.io/en/team/rocio-rocha-dietz/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It is based in Berlin<ref name="WaPo">{{Cite news |last=Stanley-Becker |first=Isaac |date=September 25, 2021 |title=Election fraud, QAnon, Jan. 6: Far-right extremists in Germany read from a pro-Trump script |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/09/25/german-election-far-right-trump/ |access-date=November 11, 2022 |archive-date=31 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231025940/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/09/25/german-election-far-right-trump/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and is funded by the {{Ill|Alfred Landecker Foundation|de}}, which provided the organization with €2.8 million.<ref name=":0" /> The organization tracks far-right activity on Telegram.<ref name="WaPo" />
During the 2021 German federal election, CeMAS found that false claims of voter fraud had become commonplace on Telegram in Germany, with accusations against Dominion Voting Systems being common despite the company's technology not being used in German elections. Dittrich said, "We have seen far-right actors try to claim election fraud since at least 2016, but it didn't take off. When Trump started telling the 'big lie,' it became a big issue in Germany, sometimes bigger than the pandemic, because far-right groups and the AfD are carefully monitoring the success Trump is having with this narrative."<ref name="WaPo" />
CeMAS staff are consulted by many media outlets as experts on topics such as conspiracy theories, Russian propaganda, Reich citizens and anti-Semitism.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Eckardt |first1=Lisa-Marie |last2=dpa |date=2022-11-03 |title=CeMAS: Immer mehr Deutsche stimmen laut Studie russischer Propaganda zu |url=https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2022-11/cemas-studie-russland-propaganda |access-date=2024-12-13 |work=Die Zeit |language=de-DE |issn=0044-2070}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-11 |title=Former lawmaker's arrest over suspected coup plot highlights Germany's extremism problem - TODAY |url=https://www.todayonline.com/world/former-lawmakers-arrest-over-suspected-coup-plot-highlights-germanys-extremism-problem-2068376 |access-date=2024-12-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221211100313/https://www.todayonline.com/world/former-lawmakers-arrest-over-suspected-coup-plot-highlights-germanys-extremism-problem-2068376 |archive-date=11 December 2022 }}</ref>
In 2023, CeMAS was presented with the Philipp Morris ''Power for Democracy'' Award for outstanding democratic engagement.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Engagement gegen Rechtsextremismus und Verschwörungsideologien {{!}} Deutsches Stiftungszentrum |url=https://www.deutsches-stiftungszentrum.de/aktuelles/2023_10_13_power_for_democracy_award_cemas_gegen_uns |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=www.deutsches-stiftungszentrum.de}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{Official website|https://cemas.io}}
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Category:2021 establishments in Germany Category:Think tanks based in Germany