a Russian disinformation operation accusing Emmanuel Macron of “being involved” has been detected, in keeping with a authorities supply | EUROtoday

A disinformation operation linked to the Russian community Storm-1516 and geared toward making folks consider within the involvement of Emmanuel Macron within the Epstein affair was detected by the French authorities, we realized from a authorities supply on Friday February 6.

Viginum, the service liable for combating overseas interference on-line, detected this operation on Wednesday, which was primarily based on “creation of a website usurping the identity of France-Soir »where was published “an article accusing the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, of being involved in the Epstein affair”specified this supply, confirming info from BFM-TV.

On this pretend web site an article was revealed which usurped the identify of a journalist from Parisian and accused “the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron for being involved in the “Epstein affair””added this supply. The pretend content material was then “amplified on X” by a number of accounts recognized as common relays of pro-Russian disinformation.

This false article presupposed to reveal “documents” incriminating Emmanuel Macron within the context of the Jeffrey Epstein case, American financier and intercourse legal who died in jail in 2019. A search carried out on the “Epstein Library” database, out there on the web site of the American Department of Justice, reveals that the paperwork cited don’t seem there.

The president recurrently focused

The media France-Soir revealed a denial on social networks on Wednesday night. “Important alert to readers of France-Soir. Warning: usurpation of brand and content. The site france-soir.net has no link with France-Soir »he said in a press release posted on Parisian announced that it had filed a complaint.

According to the government source, “Viginum attributes this site with a high level of confidence to the CopyCop informational modus operandi”. CopyCop is a community of faux web sites, linked to a former American police officer, John Mark Dougan, exiled in Russia since 2016. This community, which frequently imitates actual web sites, notably relays false content material manufactured by one other community, Storm-1516, accused of being behind quite a few disinformation operations focusing on France and Western international locations.

On X, the primary account to broadcast the video is “@LoetitiaH, a historical and frequent relay of Storm-1516’s information operations”additional particulars this supply. The video content material then “been taken up and amplified by numerous other accounts followed by Viginum and very probably paid by the operators of the modus operandi”she provides.

Nevertheless, “visibility does not mean impact”underlined this supply, specifying that “this operation is very similar” what the Storm-1516 community is used to doing, “by targeting political figures (including the president) and quickly responding to current events”.

A “significant threat to public debate”

As with each Storm-1516 operation, the pretend web site was rapidly deactivated and was not viewable two days after it went reside. After the publication of the Epstein information, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose nation is the central goal of the Storm-1516 campaigns, in keeping with specialists and authorities, was additionally the topic of false publications.

According to the newest figures communicated by Viginum in May 2025, Storm-1516 can be on the origin of no less than 77 info operations focusing on Western international locations, together with France, between its emergence on the finish of 2023 and March 2025. The goal of Storm-1516 “seems to be primarily about discrediting the Ukrainian government, probably in the hope of leading to the suspension of Western aid to Ukraine”then detailed Viginum in his report.

For the group, this community represents a “significant threat to the French and European digital public debate”. Storm-1516 is notably accused of its motion within the context of the 2024 American presidential election, the German federal elections and the 2025 Moldovan legislative elections.

In France, the place municipal elections shall be held in mid-March, earlier than the presidential election in 2027, dozens of faux native information websites that appeared on-line on the finish of 2025 and revealed anxiety-provoking and divisive content material, mixing true and false, have been attributed to it.

THE “more than 3 million pages” paperwork from the Epstein file revealed on January 30 by the American Department of Justice don’t include any new parts that would result in extra prosecutions, instantly warned the quantity two of the division, Todd Blanche. But though the mere point out of an individual’s identify within the Epstein file doesn’t suggest any a priori reprehensible act on their half, many personalities are experiencing the shock wave of those revelations.