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Russian Military Intelligence Targets French Presidential Candidate With Deepfake Campaign
The Russian military intelligence service GRU allegedly orchestrated a disinformation campaign targeting French presidential candidate Raphaël Glucksmann through a group called Storm-1516. The operation deployed sophisticated deepfake video content involving journalists Léa Salamé and Edwy Plenel to destabilize the 2027 French presidential election.
28 July 2026 · GRU · Misinformation and synthetic media
The Secrétariat général de la Défense et de la Sécurité nationale (SGDSN) informed Raphaël Glucksmann that he was targeted by Storm-1516, a group directly piloted by the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service. The operation was detected at the end of the week of July 28 and was designed to destabilize the 2027 French presidential election.
The disinformation campaign deployed a sophisticated deepfake involving journalists Léa Salamé and Edwy Plenel, manipulating their identities and voices. The same group had previously targeted another 2027 presidential candidate, Édouard Philippe, by spreading false information about his health.
Reported impact
The operation targeting Glucksmann achieved relatively low visibility on social media networks, but relied on a relatively sophisticated manipulation technique.