False reports or false articles which use the signage of French media like “Le Parisien” or BFMTV appear on social networks. This method aims to saturate fact-checkers, journalists who ferret out false information.
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French media were targeted in June by a disinformation campaign from Russia. The operation is called “Matriochka” and is denounced in a report by Viginum, the French organization for vigilance and protection against this interference. These are false reports or false articles, which perfectly imitate recognized French media with the logo and presentation of the ParisianRFI or even BFMTV.
Ukraine is in the sights of these misinformants, with, for example, a false report from Euronews which claims that Ukrainian refugees in Italy received 900,000 euros. A doctored photo of fake graffiti, which depicts the Ukrainian president as a beggar. This campaign also generated false information about the Olympic Games or the European elections.
These fake articles first circulate on pro-Russian accounts on Telegram messaging, then they are widely shared on the X network. In addition to being shared massively, they are also shared in a very targeted manner. Publications appeal to specific users by mentioning them directly. More than 500 of them around the world have been targeted since last September, including around forty French people. These are mainly media called to verify these Intox. This method aims to saturate fact-checkers, journalists who ferret out false information.
The objective of such a campaign is to destabilize Ukraine’s allies on the aid to be provided to it, this is explained in a report by Viginum, the French organization for vigilance and protection against this interference. France, with its Western allies, is a prime target in this discrediting campaign.
This is not the first time that disinformation campaigns have been launched by Russia. They have been continuous since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. According to Viginum, these “attacks” seek to achieve the image of France internationally. To the point that the organization today considers that Matryoshka is a campaign of foreign interference which harms the “interests of the nation”.
