How the Kremlin’s Disinformation Machine Is Targeting Europe
France’s Macron has surged in the polls—and become the target of Kremlin-controlled news agencies.
Photograph: Chesnot/Getty Images
As French centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron began surging in polls recently, his campaign was hit by a report calling him a “U.S. agent” and hinting that he’s a homosexual who’s backed by a “very wealthy gay lobby.” The source? Sputnik, a news agency controlled by the Kremlin.
In a throwback to Soviet-era propaganda efforts, Russia’s sprawling state-run media empire is buzzing ahead of elections this year in the Netherlands, France, and Germany—putting Europe’s political establishment on alert after intelligence agencies accused Russia of meddling in the U.S. presidential race. Sputnik and RT, a state-owned global TV network, “make it their daily business to put out fake news,” Richard Ferrand, secretary-general of Macron’s En Marche! party, told France 2 television on Feb. 13.