Copenhagen council members targeted with email spam about Palestine Square vote

By Ebad Ahmed

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AA) - Thousands of emails flooded the inboxes of Copenhagen city officials before a crucial vote on establishing a Palestine Square in the district of Norrebro, the state news media outlet reported Thursday.

Some have described it as a coordinated attempt to influence the vote.

City council members reported receiving an overwhelming number of emails urging them to reject the proposal, with at least 49 of 55 representatives targeted. Morten Melchiors of the Conservative People's Party described it as a “massive attack.”

“In one hour, I received 830 emails,” Melchiors told DR News. “The City of Copenhagen’s system registered 12,253 emails in that period, causing disruption.”

Other councilors, including Christopher Rohl of the Radical Liberals and Frederik Kronborg from the Red-Green Alliance, reported that their inboxes were flooded with identical messages, many from foreign addresses. Rohl estimated he received 650 emails, while Kronborg counted more than 900.

“There’s a difference between citizen engagement and an orchestrated effort to drown political discourse,” said Rohl, adding that the messages failed to change his stance.

Kronborg was concerned about interference. “This disrupts political work. It appears to be an attempt to undermine our decision-making,” he said.

While the origins remain unclear, officials noted that the emails had Hebrew and American names, suggesting possible external influence. Despite the influx, supporters of the Palestine Square proposal remained resolute.

The city council is expected to proceed with the vote later Thursday.