France's presidential election is set for the spring of 2027, and it is already attracting instances of misinformation and alleged foreign interference that have since sparked criminal proceedings.
Researchers from the bot-tracking network AntiBot4Navalny have detected a campaign linked to Matryoshka, a covert influence and disinformation operation aligned with Russia.
At first, these posts focused on Gabriel Attal, the former prime minister of France who is running to succeed current president Emmanuel Macron.
Attal filed a criminal complaint with French authorities "alleging foreign interference originating from Russian networks", after fabricated videos impersonating French news outlets targeted him online.
Fake videos bearing the logos and visual identity of well-known French news outlets such as Le Figaro and Libération circulated online, attempting to smear Attal by linking him to political scandals.
Some attempted to throw Attal's health into question, with one false headline claiming he'd been hospitalised, and another claiming he had Parkinson's disease.
Somewhat paradoxically, various false posts even alleged that Attal had launched a campaign against "nonexistent" Russian disinformation to try and block social media platform X.
Others said that he had paid news outlets to spread...
Independent researchers and French authorities have identified a raft of false content focusing on two former prime ministers who intend to run in next year's presidential race. France's preside...