US Embassy in Germany Announces Murky 'Social Media Support' Contract

The US Embassy in Germany announced a request for a quote for "social media support services" which may be used to monitor Germans' attitudes on the TTIP deal, embassy sources told RT Deutsch.

The US Embassy in Berlin placed a request for a quote for "Social Media Support Services" which specifies a potential contract for public relations, leading social media campaigns, as well as monitoring external blogs.

Embassy sources told RT Deutsch that the monitoring part of the contract may be used to track "anti-American attitudes" and opinions on the upcoming controversial TTIP trade deal between the US and the EU. There were no details on the social media campaign portion. The US ambassador to Germany previously made a speech in which he called for parties to "work together to keep the information space free."

"Included in the project is the creation of social media campaigns on different subjects and monitoring external blogs and social media platforms," the request for a quote said.

The US Ambassador to Germany made a speech in June, in which he claimed that certain individuals he labeled "Russian trolls" apparently "lead carefully organized attacks against the Internet, the ultimate democratic communications medium." Several moments later, he said that "the goal is to make the public think the Internet is an ungoverned zone of unreliable information."

The ambassador did not clarify what kind of "governance" the Internet would need as an "ultimate democratic communications medium."