The resigning French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, made this announcement before a parliamentary committee this Wednesday, December 18.
France has proof that Russia is trying to manipulate influencers in European countries including France, resigning French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday.
Citing electoral interference via social networks attributed to Moscow in Moldova and Romania, the head of French diplomacy declared that Paris had “elements which confirm that Russia is also trying to manipulate influencers in other European countries, including France”.
u27a1ufe0f A government source confirmed to AFP that at least nine French people, influencers in various fields and each with several hundred thousand subscribers, were concerned #AFP
— Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) https://twitter.com/afpfr/status/1869438595519709569?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
“Investigations are ongoing. We call on content creators and their subscribers to be extremely vigilant regarding these threats which weigh on our public debate,” added Jean-Noël Barrot before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly.
According to Le Monde, which cites a source within the French intelligence services, more than 2,000 European content producers were contacted by people close to the Russian authorities to relay pro-Russia propaganda. Twenty of them, including nine French people, accepted, the newspaper said.
