Israeli firm BlackCore meddled in several elections worldwide, French watchdog reveals
A French government watchdog has revealed that Israeli tech company BlackCore has been meddling in elections across the world through online influence and disinformation campaigns.
In a report released on Sunday, France’s digital interference watchdog, Viginum, said the operations targeted elections and political figures in Scotland, France, Angola, Togo, and New York City.
The report said that accounts linked to BlackCore targeted Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney and the Scottish National Party (SNP), and also focused on candidates from the French left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI) via fake social media accounts, data leaks, and the circulation of fabricated allegations.
It further found evidence suggesting similar methods were used during municipal elections in New York City.
Speaking on Thursday, Viginum’s head of digital interference, Marc-Antoine Brillant, said the watchdog’s investigations had identified BlackCore as the culprit behind the foreign digital interference, but the company’s sponsor or sponsors remain unknown.
“This modus operandi was not limited to municipal elections in France. It also appears to have been used to carry out foreign digital interference operations in other countries or regions, such as Angola, Togo, the elections in Scotland, and the 2025 municipal election in New York,” he said during a press conference alongside French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
Meanwhile, Swinney urged the UK government to take “urgent steps” aimed at countering “orchestrated disinformation campaigns and foreign election interference”.
He had earlier described the situation in the Gaza Strip caused by Israel’s genocidal war as a “man-made humanitarian catastrophe”.
Swinney and his fellow ministers had also imposed a form of sanctions on the Israeli military by withholding state grants to arms firms that supply the occupation’s army.
Hezbollah fighters successfully ambush Israeli forces in southern Lebanon
'Netanyahu failed': Lapid says potential Iran-US deal falls short of Israel's war objectives
Israeli firm linked to digital interference campaigns across several countries: Report
US use of AI in Iran school massacre did not breach Anthropic’s ‘red lines’: CEO
VIDEO | Massive rallies in Pakistan honor Islamic Revolution's late Leader Ayatollah Khamenei
VIDEO | Security challenges test Pakistan’s regional ambitions
VIDEO | Iraqis commemorate 12th anniversary of Al-Jihad Al-Kifa’i fatwa against Daesh
VIDEO | Prominent Palestinian doctor Abu Safiya appeared at Israeli supreme court by video link
VIDEO | Gaza’s market paradox: High inflation, cash scarcity force 1.5 million into a coupon economy
Israeli firm meddled in several elections worldwide, French watchdog reveals
US warplane crashes southeast of Mount Rainier, sparking wildfire
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
