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Unmasking BlackCore: Allegations of Foreign Interference in French Elections

Devdiscourse • May 13, 2026

French authorities are delving into potential foreign interference in March's municipal elections, with suspicions falling on an Israeli firm named BlackCore. The company stands accused of orchestrating a disinformation campaign against candidates from the hard-left France Unbowed party, according to sources close to the investigation.

The tactics involved deceptive websites and misleading social media accounts that smeared three candidates with criminal allegations and disparaging digital ads. French intelligence and Viginum, a disinformation detection service, are exploring who commissioned this alleged campaign.

The findings underscore growing concerns over election integrity amid rising political polarization. With crucial elections on the horizon, the stakes are high for France and other democracies grappling with similar threats from digital campaigns and overseas meddling.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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This article is one source in a clustered incident — the cluster page carries the summary, timeline and every other outlet covering it.

France Investigates Israeli Firm BlackCore for Election Interference French authorities are investigating whether the Israeli company BlackCore was involved in a foreign interference campaign targeting the hard-left party La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) ahead of the municipal elections held in March 2026. The campaign allegedly included the creation of deceptive websites and social media accounts that spread false accusations of criminal behavior against three candidates. French intelligence agencies are probing who commissioned this smear campaign, which reportedly involved digital ads disparaging the candidates. BlackCore has been described as an 'elite influence, cyber, and technology company' that offers services for information warfare. The investigation follows reports of coordinated inauthentic behavior linked to BlackCore's activities, which also included operations in Africa. Major tech companies like Meta, Google, and TikTok have identified and removed accounts associated with this disinformation campaign. The situation highlights growing concerns about election integrity in France amid rising political polarization. 56 sources 61

Unmasking BlackCore: Allegations of Foreign Interference in French Elections

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