Information Warfare Watch No. 35

RUSSIAN DISINFO TARGETS FRANCE'S ELECTION...
On June 30th, French citizens went to the polls to vote in snap elections called earlier that month by French President Emmanuel Macron. The elections, prompted by the stinging defeat suffered by Macron's Renaissance party in recent European elections, involve two rounds – the second of which will take place on July 7th. The results of the first round, however, suggest a sea change in French politics, with the right-wing National Rally party of firebrand politician Marine Le Pen securing a decisive majority. 

Whether Le Pen retains her dominant political position following the upcoming second election round remains to be seen. What is already clear, however, is that France's elections are of considerable interest to the Kremlin, which is actively seeking to influence the outcome, as well as voter attitudes. 

A recent investigation by the influence operation watchdog Recorded Future has found that the French elections "are a target of foreign malign influence operations linked to Russia and Iran." Specifically, according to the study, Russian-linked influence networks Doppelganger and CopyCop have targeted French audiences "using large language models (LLMs) to promote pro-Russia content in French disparaging President Macron and dissuading continued European support to Ukraine." Iran, meanwhile, is engaged in a more modest effort to do much the same, albeit on a smaller scale. "Iran is likely conducting limited covert influence activities opportunistically targeting the election using both legacy websites and new social media accounts to undermine France as a result of its support to Israel," the study notes. 

Notably, these efforts appear to have had a "negligible" impact on voter attitudes, according to Recorded Future. Nevertheless, the group posits, "continued monitoring is crucial to identify and mitigate foreign malign influence operations, disrupt the networks' activities, and force threat actors to refine their tactics or dissuade future operations. Concurrently, reactive measures taken by public and private organizations should be calculated and tailored to ensure that defensive actions such as informing media, government entities, and ultimately the public do not inadvertently validate, exaggerate, or legitimize the efforts of malign influence actors." (Recorded Future, June 28, 2024)

...AND THE SUMMER OLYMPICS
France's elections are not the only target of Russian influence operations, however. Russian propagandists are likewise taking aim at the upcoming Summer Olympics, to be hosted in Paris. Via a disinformation campaign dubbed "Storm-1679," Russian fake news sources and disinformation actors have "[flooded] social media with short videos raising alarms about possible terrorist attacks and stoking fears about safety," the New York Times reports. (New York Times, June 3, 2024)

[EDITORS' NOTE: On the surface, the "Storm-1679" campaign appears to be a response to Russia's ban from international Olympic competition on account of its war in Ukraine. But the effort is also being seen as more strategic, coming as it does in the wake of French President Emmanuel Macron's recent remarks about the possibility of French troops deploying in support of Ukraine.] 

ISRAEL VERSUS HOSTILE MEDIA
In April, in an effort to mute the distorting impact of Al-Jazeera's coverage of the Gaza war on Arab publics, the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to temporarily ban the Qatari network from operating in the country. In early June, an Israeli court upheld that decision, citing Al-Jazeera's "close connection" to Hamas. Now, Netanyahu's government is going even further. On the heels of what has come to be known as the "Al Jazeera Law," Israel's legislature is moving to make the measure permanent and empowering the government to shut down other foreign media outlets likewise deemed threats to national security. The expanded powers also grant the government the authority to block satellite in addition to cable broadcasts. However, critics of the move, including the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), are challenging the law's constitutionality, asserting that it violates freedom of the press and expression, as well as the right to information, which they argue are crucial during times of conflict and government censure. (Jerusalem Post, June 26, 2024)