France has recorded a sharp increase in Russian disinformation activity. According to an investigation by EuroNews, more than 200 new fake media websites have appeared in recent months, at least 140 of which impersonate well-known French news outlets. These clone websites publish articles that closely resemble the originals in style and appearance, but contain distorted content promoting pro-Kremlin narratives.

The network has been linked to the notorious Doppelgänger operation, also known as Storm-1516. It is coordinated by the American John Mark Dougan, one of the key operatives behind Russian influence campaigns in Europe. Dougan was previously involved in the CopyCop network, which was exposed in the summer of 2024.

The mechanism is simple and cynical: artificial intelligence generates thousands of articles in French; the texts are published on domains that closely imitate legitimate media outlets; and the disinformation is amplified through social media and advertising, allowing it to quickly enter public discourse.

Since October 2025, the network’s activity has increased sharply. Its main themes include discrediting Emmanuel Macron, fueling anti-Ukrainian sentiment, and undermining trust in state institutions and the military.

“Impersonating media outlets is nothing new”, Vincent Berthier, head of the technology and journalism department at the media freedom organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), told The Cube. “It is a classic tactic in information and propaganda operations, especially Russian ones”.

“This strategy can take different forms: either the direct cloning of major news outlets or – as in this case – the imitation of the style of local media”, he added. “As part of this operation, the sites republish content from other media outlets and insert a pro-Putin talking point somewhere in the text, or completely rewrite the original article from a catastrophizing angle, greatly exaggerating the problem”.

The primary objective is to maximize chaos ahead of the 2026 municipal elections and weaken the position of Macron and his political movement.

For France and the European Union as a whole, this serves as another warning signal: without significantly strengthening cyber defenses, rapidly blocking fake domains, and expanding media literacy programs on a large scale, democratic processes will remain an easy target for Kremlin information operations.