France has uncovered a pro-Russian disinformation campaign falsely linking President Emmanuel Macron to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a French government source said on Friday.
According to the sources, the State’s Foreign Digital Interference Protection Service has identified an operation using tactics similar to those of Storm-1516, a pro-Russian network that US authorities suspect of spreading disinformation during the 2024 US presidential campaign.
The campaign’s content included screenshots of fake emails presented as part of an alleged new release of US Justice Department documents on Epstein, aimed at impeaching Macron.
One of those fake e-mails falsely claimed that Macron hosted a party attended by minors.
Macron’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters inquiry about the disinformation campaign, or whether the president had ever met with Epstein, either before or after his 2008 conviction for pimping a minor into prostitution.
Fake website
The disinformation operation began via a website posing as the French online daily France-Soir.
On Wednesday, the fake domain published an article accusing Macron of ties to Epstein. The information was then further expanded through a video posted on the X platform, owned by Elon Musk, the source said.
The French Response account, run by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the X platform, described the article as inaccurate and denied its allegations.
The fake website was taken down after a complaint by the real France-Soir portal, but Reuters found that a video posing as a news report was still available on the X platform.
When asked by Reuters whether the French authorities had requested the removal of the disputed video, Company X did not respond.
The source stated that the original video was posted by an account associated with the group Storm-1516, and the content was then spread by numerous other accounts.
The Russian embassy in Paris was not immediately available for comment.
A French official said Paris has previously expressed concern to Moscow over what it says are Russian attempts to discredit Macron, including during his first presidential campaign in 2017. Moscow rejected those accusations.
European governments accuse Russia and pro-Russian actors of being behind a wider campaign of interference aimed at destabilizing European governments and undermining the European Union, which Moscow also denies.
(Vijesti.ba)
