Last Updated: November 14, 2023, 01:30 IST
PARIS:France’s cyber defence unit has unveiled a disinformation marketing campaign emanating from Azerbaijan that aimed to undermine Paris’ capability to carry subsequent 12 months’s Olympic Games, a report confirmed on Monday.
According to the report seen by Reuters and different media, the marketing campaign ran from July 26-27 on an account of an Azerbaijani particular person on social media X, previously Twitter, with hyperlinks to the Azeri presidential celebration.
“The investigations showed that at least one foreign actor close to Azerbaijan had acted, via the use of unauthentic processes, with the objective of harming at France’s reputation in its capacity to host the 2024 Olympic and paralympic Games,” France’s state service for Vigilance and Protection in opposition to Foreign Digital Interference (Viginum) stated in its report on the marketing campaign.
The marketing campaign, which included footage and a video displaying clashes between French police and protesters that have been seen by hundreds of thousands of individuals, ran with the slogan #boycottparis2024 following riots in Paris on the finish of June.
However, Viginum stated it had not been in a position to hyperlink the marketing campaign on to the Azerbaijani authorities.
Neither the Azeri authorities nor the presidential celebration have been instantly accessible for remark. The Azeri embassy in Paris didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Ties between Paris and Baku have been strained in latest months and have worsened since Baku took management of the Nagorno-Karabah area.
At the time of the marketing campaign, France had repeatedly criticized Azeri authorities over the blocking of the Lachin hall, the important thing street that linked Armenia to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave.
A French diplomatic supply stated Paris had requested Baku for clarifications on the disinformation marketing campaign. It would even be discussing the matter with X, previously Twitter, within the coming days, the supply stated.
(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Reuters)
