russiaFR
Operation Storm-1516: 85 fake news sites and deepfake targeting French municipal elections
A Russian-aligned influence network has deployed a massive disinformation campaign targeting France's municipal elections since February 2025. Nearly 14,000 articles published on 85 counterfeit regional news sites and a deepfake video released in March 2026 aim to polarize electoral debate and discredit mainstream candidates by attributing extreme positions to them.
First detected: May 11, 2026Network: Outlets FIMI pro-Kremlin / Social Design Agency / Doppelganger residual
Since February 2025, a network identified as Storm-1516 has published fake regional news on more than 80 sites impersonating French regional daily press, polluting the debate before the March 2026 municipal elections. RSF documents the ecosystem; Viginum confirms attribution. In February 2026, a fake deepfake audio of Éric Piolle, mayor of Grenoble, circulated to 8,000 shares on Telegram before removal.
First seen: February 1, 2025Final amplifier: Sites impersonating French regional press + Telegram channels + inauthentic X relays
Key figures
1000
ITEMS 30D
1000
ITEMS 7D
+100%
TREND 7D
12
SOURCES
Analysis
The "OPERATION STORM-1516: 85 FAKE NEWS SITES AND DEEPFAKE TARGETING FRENCH MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS" narrative generated 1000 detected items over 30 days, driven by 12 distinct sources and 1 suspected networks. Peak activity was observed at D-0. The 7-day dynamic is up 100% vs the prior week.
Listed items are under monitoring. Their presence does not automatically imply disinformation - DisInfo Monitor detects propagation patterns, not verdicts.
VOLUMETRY — 30 DAYS
30 days agoPeak: 415/jToday
NETWORK GRAPH — SOURCES × NETWORKS
SourceNarrativeNetwork
ACTORS — TOP SOURCES
- 125
- 50
- 47
- 37
- 33
- 29
- 18
- 14
- 14
- 13
- 12
- 11
TARGET COUNTRIES
- RU114
- UA49
- FR26
- ML24
- US21
- IR21
- TR12
- IL11
- NE10
- GB10
SUSPECTED NETWORKS
russia ·500
CONTENT (500)
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… and 450 more items
How to cite this investigation
DisInfo Monitor (2026), "Operation Storm-1516: 85 fake news sites and deepfake targeting French municipal elections", independent publication, disinfo-monitor.com/en/narrative/operation-storm-1516-faux-sites-pqr-et-deepfake-video-ciblent-les-elections-muni, first detected May 11, 2026, last updated May 25, 2026, accessed August 24, 2026.