The self-proclaimed “assault troop” Center for Political Beauty (CPB)––an activist art collective based in Berlin and founded in 2009––is best known for their (at times controversial) operations and is considered exceptional in every respect. The collective not only draws attention to political grievances but takes action and fights against the shift to the right in Germany. The construction of a monument against the creeping normalisation of fascism in Germany, right next door to Björn Höcke, the leader of the far-right AfD (Alternative for Germany political party) in Thuringia, attracted a great deal of national and international media attention in 2017.[1] In addition, the CPB made possible the “disappearance” of five million flyers of the AfD (2021) by pretending to be a logistics company named Flyerservice Hahn. These are perhaps the two most famous actions of the past, but only two of many. It is remarkable how CPB manages to actively intervene in politics with their art, describing their strategy as follows: “The most useful tool is fiction.”[2]

The latest action presents a multiple piece art campaign aiming for a ban of the AfD. The operation is anchored both in real space and online. It was publicly released on 27 November 2023 and continued until 2 June 2024, the fifth anniversary of Walter Lübcke's death.[3] On this specific date, the art collective CPB filed with the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe for a ban of the AfD party.

The operation consisted of three components: the installation in front of the Bundeskanzleramt in Berlin, a deepfake speech by German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz created with artificial intelligence, and the website afd-verbot.de.

The installation was located in front of the Bundeskanzleramt and presented a large-scale photo montage of four AfD members as prisoners generated by AI: the Thuringian AfD leader Björn Höcke, Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, co-chairman and -chairwoman respectively, and party member Uwe Wappler. Resembling mug shots, they were depicted behind bars wearing a gray or black hoodie. Although the facial features were slightly distorted, each person was still easily identifiable. The architecture of the installation was reminiscent of a prison building, a cube, from whose windows the oversized portraits looked directly at the observer. In addition, party statements were played over loudspeakers, intended to serve as evidence of the party's unconstitutional ambitions. The installation was presented for three days, from 27 to 30 November 2023.

Installation view, Bundeskanzleramt in Berlin, Germany. © David Biene/Center for Political Beauty

Unlike the installation, the video of an AI-generated Chancellor Olaf Scholz was online until February 2024 and then got banned by the German government. In the video titled Rede an die Nation [Speech to the German Nation], Olaf Scholz presents himself as the initiator of the banning of the AfD and introduces the information platform afd-verbot.de. With dramatic emphasis, he implores the public for help in gathering evidence and uploading it to website afd-verbot.de.

The video is quickly recognisable as a fake since the synchronisation of the lips does not match the audio, but the visual representation, speech articulation, and voicing seem authentic to Scholz's voice. Concerns were expressed by the Bundestag, stating that the video not being labelled as a deepfake could cause uncertainty among the public. Due to an alleged trademark infringement of the so-called “flag stick” [Flaggenstab in German, meaning a stylised representation of the German national flag in the official trademark emblem of the German government], the German government had the video blocked from social media, but one could still watch a slightly modified version on the website afd-verbot.de.[4] Since 19 February 2024, the video has been prohibited by the courts and consequently also deleted from the website of the CPB.

The website is the centrepiece of the operation. It serves as a database filled with incriminating information about the AfD: each AfD member is listed with a personalised e-file where their anti-constitutional statements are listed with the respective sources. The statements are grouped into five categories of anti-constitutional violations, and an algorithm evaluates each statement and assigns a ranking. For example, the statement by Marc Jongen, member of the AfD and the German Bundestag, is ranked with four out of five stars for this quote: “The identity of a people is a combination of origin, culture and legal framework. A passport alone does not make you German. As the AfD, we are therefore in favour of reintroducing the so-called principle of descent, which was still valid until recently.”[5] The following anti-constitutional violations are assigned: “violation of human dignity and the prohibition of discrimination, attempt to expatriate people, disenfranchisement of vulnerable groups, violation of fundamental and human rights.” The electronic file is also supplemented by information on the political function of the person in question and whether their “Nazi connections” are considered confirmed.

Despite the thematic seriousness, the website also includes satirical sections. For example, under “donations”, German Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner explains: “Unfortunately, I was unable to provide any funds from the federal budget for this portal of the federal government.” Since Lindner is known for his neoliberal economic positions, it is clear that this presumed quote is purely satirical and humorous.

AI-generated mugshots of the AfD members Marc Jongen and Mariana Iris Harder-Kühnel for the database with incriminating information. © Center for Political Beauty

AI-generated mugshots of the AfD members Marc Jongen and Mariana Iris Harder-Kühnel for the database with incriminating information. © Center for Political Beauty

In preparation of the campaign, existing indications of unconstitutionality were collected and processed. A central piece was a fake internal party letter distributed by the CPB to a large number of AfD members to elicit criminally relevant statements. In the letter, AfD members were asked to “now send in all information and facts that could be misused for a ban procedure against our party” via a contact form. In the name of the “AfD Federal Committee,” party members were asked for e-mails, photos, chat histories, and other material that could potentially be incriminating for the party—including step-by-step instructions on how to upload such documents. The satirical aspect also shines through in this initiative. For example, participants could potentially win a fuel voucher. According to right-wing media reports, the party warned its members about this site in a circular but did not comment publicly.[6]

Fake internal party letter distributed by the CPB to a large number of AfD members. © Center for Political Beauty

According to a CPB press release, more than 2,000 pieces of evidence relating to around 350 people have been recorded on the platform to date. Anyone interested was able to submit information and evidence to the database until 2 June 2024. However, it is still unclear whether the website can remain online, as the CPB states: “Instead of having a ban on the AfD examined––despite the 2,000 pieces of evidence of anti-constitutional aspirations––the Scholz government would rather shut down this website.”[7]

Since the launch of the website, the question of an AfD ban has grown louder and louder. In 2023, the AfD achieved 19 to 22 percent in nationwide polls, although entire state branches of the AfD are classified as “confirmed right-wing extremist” by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Meanwhile, nationwide protests against right-wing extremism are rising, and the discussion of an AfD ban is discussed in many different forms, underlining the threat and urgency of the situation, but the campaign of the AfD ban is on the verge of censorship. The CPB will defend the artistic freedom because it still has not yet been decided which fiction will become reality or, in the words of CPB: “Where fiction is expected, we see reality.”[8]

The Center for Political Beauty is known for provocative operations in the name of human rights against genocides and for the acceptance of refugees. The collective was founded in 2009 and is based in Berlin, Germany. With more than a hundred members, they shape political resistance in the 21st century, arming reality with moral fantasy and the power of history. They understand resistance as an art that needs to hurt, irritate, and unsettle. Therefore, they experiment with the laws of reality and fill the space previously occupied by public intellectuals with a moral conscience.