The general staff of the armed forces is concerned about the rise of misinformation via the internet. Fake news that abounds, in Ukraine as in Africa. Behind the scenes, France is trying to fight back. Jean-Rémi Baudot’s political brief
From now on, war is no longer fought only on the ground, but information has also become a battlefield. A weapon widely used by authoritarian regimes, Russia in the lead. Objective: to destabilize his adversaries by distilling false information. Like other democracies, France is affected. The Ministry of the Armed Forces and the Quai d’Orsay are therefore strengthening their system.
An example that took place in April last year, in Mali. The French army has spotted suspicious movements in an area. Thanks to a drone, she filmed men who meticulously created a mass grave with real corpses in Gossi. In the process, videos were broadcast on the internet accusing the French army of having massacred civilians. France quickly retaliated by declassifying its drone images. A macabre attempt at manipulation that could have had serious consequences.
Paris attributes this staging to the group of Russian mercenaries Wagner. It obviously recalls the staging of Boutcha in Ukraine. But this informational war also affects French interests, Operation Barkhane or the fight against terrorism.
“Informational warfare” and “informational maneuvers”
Because we are talking about “information warfare”, expression used at the Ministry of the Armed Forces. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we speak rather of “information maneuvers” but the bottom line remains the same: detect, analyze and respond if possible. At the Quai d’Orsay, there is now an ambassador who travels across Africa to respond to these manipulations. There is also a department of about fifteen people that coordinates the monitoring of embassies around the world.
How to respond while keeping democratic values? “You have to follow weak signals in 50 different languages” said the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When necessary, diplomatic networks relay fact-checking.
Manipulations that stir up anti-French sentiment
These manipulations can have a real impact for France. In Africa particularly, the rise of anti-French hostility, accusations of neo-colonialism sometimes taken up even in France. And we have often seen it in the wake of regimes that turn to new partners. As luck would have it, often Russia.
The real difficulty is the limits that France claims to set itself: not responding with the same tools. Troll farms, fake accounts… “It’s an asymmetrical war” recognizes an adviser…
A war that will require more and more resources and according to our information, the next military programming law (LPM) must significantly increase the budgets dedicated to this informational war.