France warns of threat to elections from Russian disinformation network with far-right links

A French official said: 'We are concerned ahead of the European election — and the local elections in Ireland.' File photo 

French officials have warned the Irish Government of a “new intensity” to Russian disinformation online, which they claim is posing a “real threat” to the integrity of the upcoming European Parliament elections.

French officials have also said that current, and potential, MEPs are a “clear target” and said that in France, and elsewhere in Europe, there are “documented links” between Russia and political parties on the far-right.

In a high-level diplomatic briefing to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the French Government said a Russian disinformation network, Portal Kombat, which it publicly outed last February has since extended to a total of 19 EU countries, including Ireland.

As reported in the Irish Examiner last Monday, this involves a dedicated website in Irish, with English translation, containing various news with a Russian-slant and a good number of Irish-interest stories.

They include an item about Ireland, and other EU countries, about to recognise the Palestine State. There are also various stories on “uncontrolled immigration” in Ireland as well as a “battle” between “illegal immigrants from Ireland” and “Irish nationalists” in Dublin.

There are also stories on “Satanavision” — referring to Eurovision — with Bambie Thug singled out for special mention over their “satanic ritual”.

French officials accept that the websites, all variations of Pravda.com, are mainly for the consumption of Russian people in Europe but said that some of the stories could get circulated more widely via “troll farms” or “hundreds of thousands” of bot, or automated, accounts.

French officials said that while the amount of content has decreased on the websites, the amount of social networks transmitting them have increased.

Threat to elections

“We are concerned ahead of the European election — and the local elections in Ireland [on June 7] — and we really believe that there’s a new intensity, a clear Russian origin, and a real threat for the integrity of the European election to come," an official said.

They believe that political representatives in France and in Europe are being targeted by this disinformation and cited recent high-profile cases of MEPs, their assistants or their staff, being linked with Russian or Chinese intelligence.

French officials said there were “documented links” between the far-right Front National in France and Russia.

“What is true for them is true also for other far-right movements in Europe,” one official said. “Clearly, in our view, they are particularly prone to be receptive to this kind of disinformation.”

The French dossier followed an investigation by a dedicated agency in France — Viginum — charged with tackling disinformation and foreign interference in public debate.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said: “Disinformation campaigns by foreign actors that seek to undermine our democratic values, principles and the core functioning of our democracies are completely unacceptable.”