01 September 2009 | Author: D. Warburton Search Copywriter

German poll results leaked by Twitter users

Twitter is in trouble with German officials again, after forecasts for several state elections were leaked by users of the social networking service ahead of official release.

The Register reports that two Twitter users posted exit poll results on Sunday for state legislative elections in Saarland, Thuringia and Saxony, a full 90 minutes before polling stations had closed. The early release of figures in this manner is a criminal offence in Germany, and those caught leaking such information can face a fine of up to 50,000 euros.

The tweets demonstrated inside knowledge by coming in at only one percentage point off the televised results released after the close of polling stations, leading to suspicion that the users were either media representatives or members of a political party.

One of the tweets was broadcast from the account of Radebeul's Christian Democrat (CDU) leader Patrick Rudolph, though Mr Rudolph denies leaking the information and states that he has deactivated his Twitter account following the incident.

Another senior CDU official, Wolfgang Bosbach stated that the leaks were "damaging to democracy" by presenting the opportunity to influence the decisions of constituents who had not yet voted. Mr Bosbach told the local newspaper Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger: "There is a danger that an election could be falsified."

This latest incident is the second time Germany's election results have been leaked ahead of schedule by Twitter users. In May 2008, two parliamentarians tweeted the re-election of German President Horst Köhler 15 minutes prior to its official announcement, and officials are naturally concerned that the next general election on September 27 could be threatened by similar leaks.

The ability of Twitter users to rapidly broadcast and share information ahead of official news sources is a distinct advantage of the social networking site over traditional media, but the possibility of criminal leaking of information means that tweets need to be recognised as a significant communication tool requiring proper policing.