Online intervention. 60 suspicious cases have been identified during the 2022 French elections

Around sixty suspicious phenomena have been detected on digital platforms during the 2022 French elections, Viginum, the government body responsible for detecting foreign digital interference, announced on Tuesday. “In its efforts to protect digital public debates related to the 2022 presidential and legislative elections, Viginum identified 60 instances of inauthenticity on digital platforms.,” according to Viginum’s first annual report, which launched in the summer of 2021.

12 of them were the subject of deep investigation, and five were finally characterized as foreign digital interference, phenomena that have multiplied in the world in recent years. Asked by AFP, Viginum, however, did not want to give more details about the country of origin of the interventions or the platforms used.

This first year of operation consisted ofrise to power, and allowed to prepare and ensure that the presidential elections went well“, an informed source told AFP. A”an unreal phenomenoncharacterized by the dissemination of information in a false or misleading mannerartificial or automated, massive and deliberate“Recalls the forty-page report, which, in general and for all, gives only one example of foreign digital manipulation attempts during the election campaign.

Swipe from Ukraine

In March 2022, just before the first round of the French presidential election, Viginum said it noticed the rapid spread of content (texts, images, videos) on several social media platforms that were clearly inaccurate or misleading. The content involved the French government’s alleged use of voting machines from a Canadian company accused by some North American activist groups of participating in electoral fraud that led to the defeat of former President Donald Trump. “Before this information maneuver gained a lot of momentum, the services of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as a number of media, quickly denied this false information.Lieutenant Colonel Marc-Antoine Brillant, Deputy Chief of Service of “Viginum” emphasizes in the report.

Viginum, which employs about forty agents, also took the leadnumerous actions to ensure digital public debate regarding various national or international current events that could be exploited by malicious foreign actors, such as the war in Ukraine or France’s actions in the Sahel.“, the report continues.

Digital interference, attempts to manipulate opinions on social networks or hacking operations have multiplied in Western election campaigns in recent years. One of the most significant cases is Russia’s interference in the 2016 US presidential election, which was the subject of an in-depth investigation by American authorities.

The pro-Russian camp was often suspicious

According to security sources, the pro-Russian camp also regularly participates in French political life or intervention operations in Africa. there”Prigogine’s galaxyThe name of the Russian founder of the Wagner paramilitary company, which has a reputation close to the Kremlin, is particularly active on social networks. “The Russian camp has harassed us during election campaigns (presidential and legislative), through fake users or anti-government accounts in Mali, Senegal, Benin and CAR. But it didn’t takea source close to the file told AFP in July.

But Russia is not the only country suspected of trying to manipulate public opinion. Previously, the Elysée Palace commissioned a cell called “Task Force Honfleurto investigate the anti-French disinformation campaign that appeared on social media after the October 2020 Islamist assassination of teacher Samuel Pati. This background noise, according to several French sources, will be of Turkish origin. This experiment is the starting point for the construction of Viginium.

To control the work of this structure, the authorities installed “ethics and scientific committee“of eight”Qualified persons in the fields of competence of the serviceincluding AFP reporter Pauline Tallagrand.