Israeli firm linked to digital interference campaigns across several countries: Report

The body announced the findings in a report on Sunday, with its Chief Marc-Antoine Brillant and French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu identifying operations that targeted France, Scotland, Angola, Togo, and New York City.

"Our investigations did not make it possible to identify the sponsor or sponsors, if indeed they exist, behind this foreign digital interference," Brillant told Reuters.

According to the report, accounts linked to BlackCore targeted Scottish First Minister John Swinney, who has described Gaza as a "man-made humanitarian catastrophe."

Previous Viginum investigations had also found that BlackCore targeted candidates from the hard-left France Unbowed party in Marseille, Toulouse, and Roubaix through automated accounts and data leaks, while fabricated "sexual violence" allegations were circulated against some candidates.

The findings suggested that the firm also interfered in New York City municipal elections, which were won by Zohran Mamdani. Brillant said the same "modus operandi" observed in the French campaigns had been used in the US case, although the specific targets and the sponsors of the operation remained unclear.

The report noted that Mamdani's victory was frowned upon by traditional pro-Israeli supporters opposed his outspoken support for Palestine.

French government seeks explanation

Lecornu said Paris had sought a formal diplomatic explanation from the Israeli regime over the matter.

"I do not doubt for a single instant that if a French private group, from French soil moreover, had engaged in foreign digital interference in Israel, they would have done the same to its ambassador on site," he said.

Reuters reported that BlackCore removed its entire online presence after receiving inquiries from the news agency. The company had described itself as "an elite influence, cyber, and technology company built for the modern era of information warfare."

Broader information campaign

The report also referred to the Israeli regime's decision in early May to authorize a $730-million propaganda budget for 2026, describing it as a fourfold increase intended to reverse a decline in global public perception following the launch of Tel Aviv's war of genocide on Gaza and subsequent regional developments.

According to the report, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the initiative as the "Eighth Front" of the regime's wars.

It further described the operation as a "Digital Iron Dome" aimed at suppressing dissenting online content through AI-driven surveillance and mass reporting, while expanding the reach of regime-backed narratives on social media platforms.

The report also said that, in the United States, millions of dollars were funneled through entities linked to President Donald Trump to automate state-engineered narratives on social media and artificial intelligence platforms such as ChatGPT and Claude.