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Pro-Russia disinformation falsely links Macron to Epstein, French government source says
A pro-Russia network spread a fabricated article and AI-generated video falsely linking Macron to Epstein, with the disinformation amplified by the Storm-1516 bot network, according to French authorities.
- On Friday, February 6, 2026, French authorities detected a Russia-linked operation falsely linking President Emmanuel Macron to Jeffrey Epstein, amplified widely in a video on X.
- With the new DOJ files public, mentions of Emmanuel Macron, President of France, rose over 200 times but do not indicate wrongdoing, French authorities said.
- The campaign used a cloned france-soir.net site and a fabricated article to seed the false story, relying on doctored emails attributed to Jean‑Luc Brunel, modelling agent, and an AI‑dubbed video plus altered screenshots.
- Although the fake site was taken down after a complaint, French Response on X highlighted AI manipulation and warned that the group's activities threaten public debate.
- Paris has long warned that Kremlin-adjacent networks seek to destabilise Europe, as Viginum links Storm-1516 to at least 77 campaigns amplified by Matryoshka and CopyCop.
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France Alleges Russian Plot Linking Macron to Epstein Scandal
French authorities have revealed that a Russian-linked operation aimed to associate President Emmanuel Macron with the notorious Jeffrey Epstein scandal, according to Anadolu Ajansı. The alleged disinformation campaign is said to have targeted Macron in an effort to undermine his credibility ahead of key political events. This development highlights ongoing concerns about foreign interference in [...]
A large-scale disinformation campaign supported by Russian bots is using fake French news reports to link Emmanuel Macron to the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein.
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources46
Leaning Left8Leaning Right7Center15Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Center
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center
50% Center
L 27%
C 50%
R 23%
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