Influencers influenced. According to accusations from the Quai d’Orsay, Russia is trying to manipulate influencers in European countries, including France. “France is targeted by several types of foreign digital interference,” denounced the resigning Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot on Wednesday, December 18, during a hearing before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly.
He called on “content creators and their subscribers to be extremely vigilant regarding these threats which weigh on our public debate”. “The operating methods deployed are varied and they evolve frequently. The recent elections in Moldova and Romania, for example, illustrated the massive use of influencers on social networks and in particular on Twitter to disrupt the vote,” he said. added. The newspaper The World actually reported this Wednesday that thousands of influencers, including French people, were approached by people close to the Kremlin to spread pro-Russian propaganda.
Nine French influencers accepted the deal
This daily quotes “a source within the French intelligence services” who claims that more than 2,000 European content producers were contacted. “Around twenty of them, including nine French people, would have accepted the deal,” writes The World. A government source confirmed to AFP that at least nine French people, influencers in various fields (lifestyle, history, etc.) and each with several hundred thousand subscribers, were concerned. At this stage of the investigations, it is not possible to determine whether these influencers were manipulated or if they were aware of the maneuver, according to this source.
“Investigations are underway and we call on content creators, like their subscribers, to be extremely vigilant regarding these threats which weigh on our public debate,” also declared Jean-Noël Barrot. “And in this area, we must be resolute, keep our cool. We must understand the threat. Form a united front and choose the tools to respond to it,” he also reacted, specifying that France has strengthened its tools “to detect and characterize digital interference”.