Russian actors have been involved in a digital information manipulation campaign, including several in Europe, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on Tuesday, citing data from VIGINUM, the French watchdog that looks into foreign digital interference.
VIGINUM monitored the Russian-led RRN campaign for over a year and found it was involved in the reproduction and usurpation of 355 domain names, especially of the media, in 10 European countries, as well as in the Americas and the Middle East, the minister’s statement reads.
To spread false information, those behind the disinformation campaign took over the digital identities of media websites such as Le Monde, Le Figaro, Der Spiegel, Süddeutsche Zeitung and The Guardian, amongst others.
It did the same with European and French government websites, including the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, at the end of May, said VIGINUM.
To spread the information across social media, those behind the campaign used fake social media accounts, with bots spreading links in response to publications by European media and political figures, VIGINUM warns.
The campaign mainly spread pro-Russian and anti-Western content linked to the war in Ukraine, highlighting, in particular, the “supposed ineffectiveness of sanctions against Russia”, the West’s “Russophobia”, the “barbarity” of the Ukrainian authorities and armies, the “neo-Nazi ideology” of the Ukrainian leaders and “the negative effects of accepting refugees”, explains VIGINUM.
As for the perpetrators of this disinformation campaign, VIGINUM has “been able to identify the involvement of Russian or Russian-speaking individuals and several Russian companies”.
Russian state actors or actors affiliated with the state were also actively involved. In particular, “the Russian diplomatic network has participated […] in the rebroadcast and amplification of the RRN campaign since spring 2022”, VIGINUM reports.
VIGINUM classified the campaign as undermining “the fundamental interests of the nation,” citing its scale, coordination and persistence as it “remains active” and continues its attempts to circumvent countermeasures already taken by the various services concerned.
In her reaction released to the press, Colonna said, “France condemns these actions, which are unworthy of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council” – namely Russia.
“The French authorities are working closely with their partners to put a stop to the hybrid war being waged by Russia”, the minister added.
Asked by EURACTIV about which countries were specifically impacted by the campaign, the ministry had not yet replied by the time of this article’s publication.
(Davide Basso | EURACTIV.fr)
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