French anti-foreign influence watchdog VIGINUM has exposed an online disinformation campaign against France involving Russian actors as well as government or Russian-linked entities.
This was announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, Catherine Colonna, on Tuesday.
According to the head of the French Foreign Ministry, the Russian campaign was based, among other things, on the creation of fake websites that looked like leading French media and official pages of the French authorities, as well as fake accounts in social networks.
Because France detected the campaign in advance, the relevant French authorities were able to "take protective and preventive measures". Among other things, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs prevented the theft of personal data from its website.
"VIGINUM's investigation found numerous elements that indicate the involvement of Russian or Russian-speaking people and several Russian companies in the implementation and conduct of the campaign. VIGINUM also found that several government agencies or organizations linked to the Russian state participated in the distribution of certain content, created within the campaign.
The involvement of Russian embassies and cultural centers that have taken an active part in strengthening this campaign, particularly through their social media accounts, is another illustration of the hybrid strategy that Russia is implementing to undermine the conditions for peaceful democratic debate and thus undermine our democratic institutions. ", Kolonna stressed.
She added that France condemns these actions of Russia, which are "unworthy of a permanent member of the UN Security Council."
"No attempts at manipulation will distract France from supporting Ukraine in the face of Russia's aggressive war. The French authorities are working closely with their partners to defeat Russia's hybrid war," the head of the French Foreign Ministry emphasized.
Earlier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevičs, who was recently elected as the President of Latvia, explained the consequences of the information war on the reports of the Western media regarding the blowing up of the Kakhovskaya HPP, in which "parties blame each other."
