Israeli firm conducts ‘sophisticated’ smear campaign of left-wing candidates in France

June 4, 2026

Israeli tech firm BlackCore conducted a cyberespionage and defamation campaign against left-wing and pro-Palestine candidates during municipal elections in the French cities of Marseille, Toulouse, and Roubaix earlier this year, using fake accounts, smear ads, and data leaks.

The operations targeted left-wing, pro-Palestinian candidates from the La France Insoumise (LFI) party in Marseille, Toulouse, and Roubaix.

Victims of the smear campaign told the Middle East Eye (MEE) that the campaign represented an unprecedented attack on French democracy, utilizing a variety of digital sabotage tactics, including automated fake accounts, localized smear advertisements, and the leaking of sensitive personal data.

In Toulouse, candidate Francois Piquemal reported that his social media passwords, home address, and personal tax information were stolen and leaked shortly before the election.

In Marseille, candidate Sebastien Delogu was the subject of a fabricated blog accusing him of sexual violence, which was artificially boosted by automated accounts based in Asia.

Digital footprints of the interference lead back to Israeli-based technology companies, raising significant concerns about foreign state involvement in local politics, with security analysts suggesting the interference was a calculated effort to penalize LFI for its outspoken criticism of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

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In Toulouse, Piquemal noted that the foreign operation coincided with intense domestic opposition from local branches of pro-Israel lobbying groups like Elnet and the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (Crif).

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While Paris prosecutors have opened a criminal probe into organized election destabilization, the French government faces allegations of a potential cover-up.

Reports suggest that a probe by Viginum, the state’s digital interference watchdog, may have been “redacted and shelved” to avoid a diplomatic rupture with Israel.

Intelligence experts view this high-tech sabotage as a “dress rehearsal” for more extensive interference ahead of France’s 2027 presidential election.

LFI officials have called for the immediate creation of an independent monitoring body, warning that the lack of robust safeguards would leave future national ballots “highly vulnerable to sophisticated foreign manipulation.”

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Similar political interference observed in France has recently been reported in Georgia, where reports indicate that Israel is conducting an aggressive strategic influence campaign to leverage diplomatic dependencies and pressure the government into abandoning its neutral foreign policy in favor of Israeli security interests.

The Israeli government is also reportedly funneling millions of dollars through firms linked to US President Donald Trump to orchestrate a sophisticated digital propaganda campaign.

The propaganda campaign utilizes AI-driven technology and a network of domestic political operators to saturate US social media and widely used AI platforms, like ChatGPT and Claude, with state-engineered narratives, effectively automating the spread of foreign influence to shape US public opinion and suppress critical discourse.

Israel’s 'Digital Iron Dome' is as much a weapon as its bombs. Mass reporting, AI, and paid propaganda form the new frontline.

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— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) October 21, 2025

Israel’s continuous narrative offensive, dubbed by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as the “Eighth Front” of Tel Aviv’s many wars in West Asia, utilizes what analysts call a “Digital Iron Dome” to intercept and suppress dissenting online content through AI-driven surveillance and mass reporting while simultaneously overwhelming social media with state-sponsored counternarratives attempting to paint a favorable image of Israel for the world.

Israeli analysts assert that despite a significantly expanded propaganda budget, spending on ‘Hasbara’ will do little to reverse the country’s reputational freefall after their genocide in Gaza was committed in full view of the world.