Latest news with #Viginum
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
France accuses enemies of spreading fake news after 'cocaine bag' claims
By Michel Rose PARIS (Reuters) -President Emmanuel Macron's office has accused France's enemies of spreading fake news by suggesting that he and other European leaders had taken drugs on a train during a visit to Kyiv. Video footage published online showed Macron sitting at a table in a train compartment with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In the footage, Macron removes a crumpled white object from the table. Some social media users suggested - without providing evidence - that the object was a "cocaine" bag and Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova reposted the footage. Macron's Elysee office said the white object was a tissue. "When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs," the Elysee said in a post on X, above a picture of a tissue on the table captioned: "This is a tissue. For blowing your nose". "This fake news is being spread by France's enemies, both abroad and at home. We must remain vigilant against manipulation," the Elysee said, without identifying the enemies. American far-right radio host Alex Jones was among those who criticised the European leaders online. Zakharova wrote on Telegram: "As in the joke, a Frenchman, an Englishman and a German boarded the train and ... got high. Apparently, so much so that they forgot to remove the accessories (a bag and a spoon) before the arrival of the journalists." Macron, Merz, Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday in a show of solidarity with Kyiv more than three years into Russia's war in Ukraine. France has started to take a more forceful approach to countering online rumours. It has tasked its Viginum foreign disinformation watchdog with monitoring Russia-linked social media accounts and uncovering influence operations. French officials have also expressed concern about media accounts linked to the American alt-right. "Our public debate is bombarded with Russian propaganda, relayed by the American far-right," French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X last week.
Local France
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Local France
France says dozens of disinformation attacks came from Russia
The estimate by the French agency countering foreign online attacks, Viginum, said the campaign was "particularly... effective in distributing anti-Ukrainian and anti-Western narratives to Western audiences". The so-called "Storm-1516" campaign uses artificial intelligence to create realistic profiles, pays amateur operators, and poses a "significant threat to the digital public debate, both in France and across all European countries," the agency said. "The European public debate is being pounded by disinformation campaigns conducted by Russian entities and relayed especially by the American far-right," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in a statement to AFP, adding that Russian entities had targeted the French legislative elections of 2024. A diplomatic source told AFP that Storm-1516 was part of an "information war" by the Kremlin. The Viginum report highlighted the role of American far-right influencers or pro-Russian influencers like Adrien Bocquet, a "former French soldier exiled in Russia", who amplify the dissemination of false information. Advertisement Some of the false information -- such as the alleged purchase by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of a former Nazi building in Germany or a luxury hotel in Courchevel -- have been verified by AFP's digital investigative team in articles available on AFP Factuel's website ( Ukraine's Western allies, particularly France, are also targeted, Viginum said. The disinformation-fighting organisation NewsGuard previously attributed to Storm-1516 a video supposedly showing a Chadian migrant confessing to raping a 12-year-old girl in France. Another, AI-generated video accused Brigitte Macron, the wife of President Emmanuel Macron, of sexual assault.
France 24
07-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Russia behind dozens of disinformation campaigns targeting Ukraine and allies, France says
French authorities said Wednesday they had tracked nearly 80 disinformation campaigns led by Russian operators between August 2023 and early March 2025, mainly targeting Ukraine and its allies, including France. The estimate by the French agency countering foreign online attacks, Viginum, said the campaign was "particularly... effective in distributing anti-Ukrainian and anti-Western narratives to Western audiences". The so-called "Storm-1516" campaign uses artificial intelligence to create realistic profiles, pays amateur operators, and poses a "significant threat to the digital public debate, both in France and across all European countries," the agency said. "The European public debate is being pounded by disinformation campaigns conducted by Russian entities and relayed especially by the American far-right," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in a statement to AFP, adding that Russian entities had targeted the French legislative elections of 2024. A diplomatic source told AFP that Storm-1516 was part of an "information war" by the Kremlin. The Viginum report highlighted the role of American far-right influencers or pro-Russian influencers like Adrien Bocquet, a "former French soldier exiled in Russia", who amplify the dissemination of false information. Some of the false information -- such as the alleged purchase by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of a former Nazi building in Germany or a luxury hotel in Courchevel -- have been verified by AFP's digital investigative team in articles available on AFP Factuel's website ( Ukraine's Western allies, particularly France, are also targeted, Viginum said. The disinformation-fighting organisation NewsGuard previously attributed to Storm-1516 a video supposedly showing a Chadian migrant confessing to raping a 12-year-old girl in France. Another, AI-generated video accused Brigitte Macron, the wife of President Emmanuel Macron, of sexual assault.
Express Tribune
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
France says dozens of disinformation attacks came from Russia
French authorities said Wednesday they had tracked nearly 80 disinformation campaigns led by Russian operators between August 2023 and early March 2025, mainly targeting Ukraine and its allies, including France. The estimate by the French agency countering foreign online attacks, Viginum, said the campaign was "particularly... effective in distributing anti-Ukrainian and anti-Western narratives to Western audiences". The so-called "Storm-1516" campaign uses artificial intelligence to create realistic profiles, pays amateur operators, and poses a "significant threat to the digital public debate, both in France and across all European countries," the agency said. "The European public debate is being pounded by disinformation campaigns conducted by Russian entities and relayed especially by the American far-right," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in a statement to AFP, adding that Russian entities had targeted the French legislative elections of 2024. AFP
