The French authorities have identified a digital disinformation campaign against several European countries including France since September involving “state entities or entities affiliated with the Russian state” that have been “amplifying false information.”
(Bloomberg) — The French authorities have identified a digital disinformation campaign against several European countries including France since September involving “state entities or entities affiliated with the Russian state” that have been “amplifying false information.”
France’s foreign affairs minister, Catherine Colonna, said it involved the creation of fake web pages impersonating French media including 20 Minutes, Le Monde, Le Parisien and Le Figaro, and government sites, as well as the creation of fake accounts on social networks.
The campaign was detected in advance, with protective and preventive measures being already taken and other technical steps still underway. The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs has dodged an attempt at identity theft on its website, according to the statement.
Russian-speaking individuals, Russian embassies and cultural centers, as well as “several Russian companies,” were involved in the campaign, the minister said, describing it as a “hybrid strategy that Russia is implementing to undermine the conditions for peaceful democratic debate.”
“France condemns these actions, which are unworthy of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council,” the minister said in the statement. “No attempt at manipulation will distract France from its support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s war of aggression.”
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