France accuses Russia of being behind major disinformation campaign

By Umit Donmez

PARIS (AA) – France on Tuesday accused Russia of leading a disinformation campaign against the country, asserting that manipulation would not affect its support for Ukraine.

The digital campaign, through which Russian public or state-affiliated actors spread fake information against France, created "fake internet pages impersonating [French] media outlets and government websites, as well as fake accounts on social media," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anne-Claire Legendre told a news conference.

Among those websites were that of France's Foreign Ministry, and dailies Le Parisien, Le Figaro, Le Monde and 20 Minutes, she said, adding that German media outlets such as Der Spiegel, Bild, Die Welt and FAZ were also impersonated.

According to Legendre, the investigation launched by the Vigilance and Protection against Foreign Digital Interference service (VIGINUM) revealed that Russian or Russian-speaking individuals, and Russian companies were involved in the campaign.

VIGINUM also found that public or state-affiliated entities – including embassies and Russian cultural centers – were involved in spreading some content produced for the campaign, she added.

This campaign shows Russia's hybrid strategy to undermine moderate democratic debate, and "to target our democratic institutions," the spokesperson said, and condemned those "these actions unworthy of a permanent member of the UN Security Council."

She stressed that "no manipulation effort will distract France from its support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression."

*Writing by Nur Asena Erturk in Ankara