France accuses Russia of waging a disinformation campaign in key election year

PARIS (AP) — France condemned “hostile” disinformation as the country’s authorities accused Russia on Monday of conducting a long-running online disinformation campaign against Ukraine’s Western supporters, marking the second anniversary of Ukraine’s overthrow. Was in the lead. military invasion of moscow His neighbor’s.

“No manipulation attempts will distract France from its support of Ukraine in the face of Russia’s war of aggression,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Earlier on Monday, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourn, speaking with his German and Polish counterparts, said a network of “at least 193” websites had been set up for the purpose of “spreading Russian disinformation.” Meeting near Paris includes talks related to Ukraine And other issues.

“Russia wants to destroy the unity of Europe and, worse, destroy our democracy by manipulating information, by blurring the line between real and fake (news),” Széjourn said.

Viginum, the French agency responsible for fighting foreign digital interference, released a report describing the network codenamed “Portal Combat”, which it analyzed between September and December in 2023.

Wigginam said it included websites using the “Pravda” name targeting countries including France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. “Heavily ideologically oriented, this content repeatedly presents false or misleading narratives,” the report said.

It said the network also includes social media, including Telegram, through “large-scale content sharing automation.”

French Foreign Ministry officials told a media briefing that Russia has stepped up efforts to manipulate information and spread deception, targeting Kiev’s allies in the West. He referred to the messages on social media platforms such as X, formerly Twitter, and websites such as Sputnik as “vast in scope” and “complex in structure”.

The purpose of Russia’s disinformation campaign remains the same, officials said: to exaggerate Russia’s success in the Ukraine war, justify its invasion, discredit and undermine Ukraine’s military resistance and civilians in the face of daily attacks on cities and towns and fractures. Weakening the flexibility of. Kiev is slowing, if not cutting off, Western support and arms supplies to Ukraine’s military.

Officials say Russia’s disinformation campaign extends beyond the war in Ukraine. In a year of high-stakes elections in Britain, the European Union and the United States, French officials say Russia is trying to confuse and intimidate voters, discredit some candidates and support others and disrupt mega sporting events. Is working for. paris olympics and the European Football Championships in Germany.

The ministry also accused Russia of being behind the stenciling of Jewish stars on walls in Paris and its suburbs last November, raising concerns over the safety of France’s Jewish community, the largest in Europe.

Last month, French defense officials said France, a staunch ally of Ukraine, had become the target of a Russian disinformation campaign. President Emmanuel Macron reaffirms support for Kyiv,

Last year, Wiggin said he monitored the alleged operation shortly after Russia invaded its neighbor. France was one of several European countries targeted, It said it traced the campaign to Russian individuals, companies and “state entities or entities affiliated with the Russian state.”

Wiggin said in a report last year that the agency detected a mirror website imitating the French Foreign Ministry and intervened with “protective and preventive measures.”

,

Surk reported from Nice, France. Thomas Adamson in Paris contributed to the story.