The investigation by Viginum, the organization fighting foreign digital interference, was carried out in a context of diplomatic tensions between Paris and Baku.
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1,600 negative publications in 24 hours. A report from Viginum, the organization fighting foreign digital interference, accused, Monday, November 13, actors linked to Azerbaijan of having led a manipulation campaign against France. The process damaged the reputation of France in its ability to host the 2024 Olympic Games, according to this organization dependent on the Prime Minister.
The investigations began on July 26 when “several visuals calling for a boycott of the Olympic Games-24” massively shared on X were detected, according to the report.
Diplomatic tensions
The investigation was carried out in a context of diplomatic tensions between Paris and Baku. In recent months, France has been involved in mediation between Azerbaijan and Armenia, two former Soviet republics in conflict for thirty years. France has also shown its support for Armenia which fears a violation of its territorial integrity by Azerbaijan, a position which has earned it harsh criticism from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev.
“Featuring images of riots or the city of Paris, these publications also included the Olympic logo, three official JOP-24 X accounts and two hashtags #PARIS2024 and #BOYCOTTPARIS2024 on each content,” details Viginum in his report.
On July 26 and 27, more than 1,600 publications accompanied by these visuals or hashtags were published on the platform. Some 91 accounts appear to be behind these posts “suggesting artificial amplification”, according to Viginum. Some of them present “inauthentic characteristics both in terms of activity and profile criteria”, it is specified. Viginum notably determined that 40 of them were created during the month of July 2023 and published “only content calling for a boycott” Games.