Israeli firm BlackCore suspected of meddling in New York and Scotland votes, France says

Viginum points beyond France

Israeli firm BlackCore, already suspected of interfering in France's local elections in March, is also suspected of meddling in elections in New York City and Scotland and of operating in Angola and Togo, France's disinformation detection service Viginum said on Thursday.

Reuters reported last month that French authorities suspected BlackCore was behind an online smear campaign targeting three mayoral candidates from the hard-left, pro-Palestine France Unbowed party (LFI). At a press conference alongside Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, Viginum chief Marc-Antoine Brillant said technical work had led the service to the company, which was then the subject of a detailed report on its alleged actions worldwide.

"This modus operandi was not limited to municipal elections in France," Brillant said, adding that it appeared to have been used for foreign digital interference in Angola, Togo, the elections in Scotland and the 2025 municipal election in New York.

No sponsor identified, and a request to Israel

Brillant said it remained unclear who had commissioned BlackCore in France: "Our investigations did not make it possible to identify the sponsor or sponsors, if indeed they exist, behind this foreign digital interference."

Lecornu said Paris had asked Israel for explanations of BlackCore's actions and for help in finding out who may have been behind the campaign, arguing France would have done the same had a French group interfered in Israel. Israel's embassy in Paris confirmed France had reached out and said it was waiting for details of the French probe before conducting its own, adding that Israel has no intention of interfering in the French political process.

Scotland, New York and the reaction

A later Viginum report said BlackCore-linked accounts had targeted John Swinney, Scotland's first minister. Swinney called the reports deeply concerning and urged the British government, which is responsible for national security, to treat hostile state online interference as a far higher priority. The SNP's head of digital, Ross Colquhoun, told Reuters the party's social platforms faced an unprecedented level of negative reactions and comments from accounts that appeared to be AI-generated bots during the May elections.

Brillant did not say who was targeted in New York's mayoral election, which was won by Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani's team, city and state officials, the NYPD and the cyber agency CISA did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and the FBI declined to comment. Before removing its online presence after Reuters enquiries, BlackCore described itself as an elite influence, cyber and technology company built for the modern era of information warfare. It has not responded to requests for comment.