AI Smear Machine Hits Top French Contenders

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France says a Russian-linked network is now using fake news and artificial intelligence tricks to tilt its next presidential election, raising fresh alarms about how easily outside powers can play with Western democracies.

Story Snapshot

French security officials say a Russian-linked propaganda network, Storm-1516, is targeting likely presidential candidates with fake stories and forged media.
One recent operation used a bogus news site, false documents, and artificial intelligence voices to smear center-left politician Raphaël Glucksmann.
Another campaign pushed fake claims about former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe’s health, also tied to Storm-1516.
These attacks follow years of Russian interference efforts against French elections, from the 2017 “MacronLeaks” hack to newer artificial intelligence driven deepfakes.

France warns of Russian meddling before 2027 vote

French security services say they recently uncovered a new disinformation push aimed at Raphaël Glucksmann, a left-leaning member of the European Parliament who is expected to run for president in 2027. Officials told reporters the campaign was traced to Storm-1516, a propaganda network analysts have linked to Russian military intelligence. Glucksmann said he was informed by France’s national defense secretariat that this was a “Russian operation” controlled by the Main Directorate of the General Staff, Russia’s military intelligence agency.

The attack on Glucksmann used a website designed to look like the French investigative outlet Blast but was in fact a fake copy. On that site, unknown operators posted a false “investigation” claiming there was a plot to boost his candidacy, supported by forged documents, cloned voices made with artificial intelligence, and a completely fabricated video. Glucksmann said the goal was simple: make a total lie go viral and smear anyone seen as hostile to the Russian regime.

Storm-1516 also targets other French politicians

French officials say Glucksmann is not the only target. The same Storm-1516 network has been accused of running a separate disinformation campaign against former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, who is also considered a serious contender for the presidency. In that case, fake stories spread online about Philippe’s health, claiming he was suffering from serious illnesses and hiding treatment. A French security source told reporters this effort, too, aimed to shape the upcoming election by weakening a candidate who might oppose Russian interests.

Researchers who track information warfare say Storm-1516 has hit France with at least five major false storylines since late 2024, many built with artificial intelligence tools to create convincing audio and video. A report cited by the French government describes the network as run from Russia and focused on undermining support for Ukraine in Western countries, including France. These operations are cheap to run, easy to deny, and can reach millions of people in days through social media sharing and coordinated posting.

A pattern of foreign interference and weak defenses

The new claims fit a pattern French leaders have been warning about for almost a decade. In 2017, hackers linked to Russia broke into Emmanuel Macron’s campaign and dumped a mix of real emails and fake documents online just before the presidential vote. France later officially blamed Russia’s military intelligence service for that hack and for attacks on media outlets and organizations tied to the Paris Olympics. The goal then, as now, was to sway voters, hurt certain candidates, and deepen splits inside France and across Europe.

Since then, France has set up special teams, like the foreign interference watchdog known as Viginum, to spot and call out fake campaigns early. Those teams say they have logged dozens of attempts by Russia and China to meddle in recent French elections. Analysts stress that these operations do not always succeed in changing who wins, but they do erode trust. When citizens cannot tell which messages are real and which are planted by foreign services, they are more likely to feel that the whole system is rigged.

Why this matters far beyond France

The French case echoes what Americans have already lived through. United States intelligence agencies concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to hurt one candidate, help another, and stir up division. French experts say Moscow is now copying similar tools against Europe: fake news sites, armies of social media bots, deepfake videos, and “hack and leak” dumps of private data mixed with forged files. These methods attack the idea that citizens can make up their minds based on honest information.

For many people on both the left and the right, this only confirms a darker fear. They already suspect that big governments and unelected elites care more about power than truth. Now they see foreign governments running secret campaigns inside Western elections, while local leaders sometimes seem slow or unwilling to respond. The French story is a warning to all democracies, including the United States: if hostile states can rewrite reality with a few fake sites and artificial intelligence clips, then free elections depend on something many feel is already broken — a political class willing to put national interest ahead of its own comfort and control.