Russia’s Matryoshka bot network targets Emmanuel Macron’s political heir ahead of France's 2027 election
The Russian Matryoshka bot network has launched a disinformation campaign targeting Gabriel Attal, the French presidential candidate from Emmanuel Macron’s party. Researchers from the Antibot4Navalny project, which tracks the activity of pro-Russian bots on social media, shared information with The Insider regarding eight fake videos released ahead of the April 2027 election. The videos are…
Russia's Matryoshka bot network has initiated a disinformation campaign aimed at Gabriel Attal, a French presidential candidate from Emmanuel Macron's party. According to the Antibot4Navalny project, the campaign has released eight fake videos in the period leading up to the April 2027 election. These videos appear to be from reputable French news outlets like BFM, RFI, Le Parisien, AFP, France 24, Le Figaro, Libération, and Le Monde.
Each video concludes with the same assertion: "the scandal will weaken Attal’s standing ahead of the 2027 presidential election." However, the alleged scandal varies with each video. The bots create fabricated quotes and narratives, such as Attal allegedly stating a statistic about homosexuals in Muslim communities, Attal's father suffering from drug addiction, and Attal himself being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Some of the claims are based on genuine facts, like Attal being openly gay and his ban on traditional Muslim abayas in French schools. However, the fabricated allegations have no basis in truth. The campaign's sole purpose is to weaken Attal's standing before the 2027 presidential election, which Macron is legally barred from running in due to term limits.
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