France has proof that Russia is trying to manipulate influencers in the country, France's foreign minister said on Wednesday.
"We have evidence that confirms that Russia is also trying to manipulate influencers in European countries, including France. Investigations are ongoing, and we call on content creators and their subscribers to be extremely vigilant about these threats to our public debate," Jean-Noel Barrot told a parliamentary hearing.
Quoting a French intelligence source, newspaper Le Monde reported on Wednesday that more than 2,000 European content producers were contacted by people close to Russian authorities to spread pro-Russian propaganda, of which 20, including nine French, accepted doing so.