Foreign Bot Networks Fueling French Political Crisis with Fake News

The Spread of Fake News in France

• 💡 Low trust in politics and politicians in France is creating fertile ground for fake news stories to find a receptive audience.
• ⚠️ A viral video falsely claimed that insulting President Macron online would soon be punishable by a year in prison and a fine, misrepresenting a law debated last year.
• 📌 The original post about an "online contempt offense" was from April of the previous year and was ultimately censored by the constitutional council.
• 🚫 Insulting the president was a criminal offense in France until 2013, when it was repealed after criticism from the European Court of Human Rights.

The '#BloquonsTout' Movement and Bot Networks

• 📢 An anti-government campaign, dubbed "Bonu" or "Let's Block Everything" (#BloquonsTout), is urging a nationwide shutdown and civil disobedience.
• 📈 While seemingly a grassroots movement gaining momentum after budget cuts, its growth has been significantly pushed by a network of bots.
• 🔍 An investigation by the collective "a collector" and cybersecurity firm PO.FOX identified these accounts as likely bots controlled by a foreign entity.

Tactics of Bot Networks

• 🎭 Bot accounts often impersonate young women, using photos ripped from influencers' accounts and slightly photoshopped.
• 🧩 Identical bios, such as "whistleblowers on corruption," are used across different accounts, suggesting a single operator.
• 🗓️ Many bot accounts started posting around the same time (late April/early May) and sometimes use incorrect dates for French holidays, like Mother's Day.
• 🗣️ The tone of the tweets can be overly formal, sounding like they were written by AI, and mistakes slip into the posts.
• 🌍 These accounts exploit divisive topics, spreading fake news that criticizes aid to Ukraine and shows support for Putin and Russia, while denigrating President Zelensky.

Foreign Interference and Destabilization

• 🎯 The primary aim of these bot networks, according to PO.FOX, is to fan the flames of the French political crisis and further destabilize French society.
• 💬 While the exact origin is uncertain, the manipulation of social divisions through fake news is a clear objective.