An Israeli company BlackCore ran digital interference operations targeting elections in France, the US, Scotland, Angola and Togo, according to Viginum, France's official disinformation watchdog.
🇫🇷 French case
In March 2026, BlackCore targeted 3 mayoral candidates from France's hard-left party, La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), in Marseille, Toulouse and Roubaix.
The smear campaign used fake websites, AI-generated images, and hundreds of inauthentic social media accounts to falsely accuse candidates of criminal allegations, including sexual assault and rape.
French prosecutors have opened an investigation. The charges include espionage, electoral interference, and online terrorism offences.
🌍 Global network
🏴 Viginum identified 256 fake accounts that generated 1,400 coordinated comments attacking Scotland's First Minister John Swinney.
The attacks focused precisely on his pro-Palestinian position. Swinney had described the situation as a "man-made humanitarian catastrophe" and suggested genocide might be unfolding in Gaza.
🇺🇸 In New York, the target was Zohran Mamdani, a self-described socialist and open Palestine supporter who won the 2025 mayoral election. BlackCore interfered using the same "modus operandi" seen in France.
🇦🇴🇹🇬 French officials confirmed BlackCore ran operations in Angola and Togo, though specific targets and methods remain undisclosed.
🔍 Who Is BlackCore?
Before the company wiped its entire online presence following media inquiries, BlackCore described itself as "an elite influence, cyber, and technology company built for the modern era of information warfare".
It claimed to provide governments and political campaigns with "cutting-edge strategies, advanced tools, and robust security to shape narratives".
The company's digital footprint was traced to servers in Britain, Germany, Finland and Lithuania. It presents itself as a private contractor. The question of who paid for these operations remains open.
🤢 Diplomatic fallout
France has formally requested an official explanation from Israel.
"I do not doubt for a single instant that if a French private group, from French soil, had engaged in foreign digital interference in Israel, they would have done the same to its ambassador on site," PM Sebastien Lecornu put it directly.
The Israeli embassy in Paris said it was waiting to receive details from the French probe and denied any intention to interfere in French politics.
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