Cyber agency says BlackCore targeted John Swinney, as well as interfering in New York and French elections
France’s cybersecurity agency has accused the Israeli tech company BlackCore of interfering in the Scottish elections earlier this year by targeting the first minister, John Swinney.
The disinformation detection agency Viginum said BlackCore had this year used proxy social media accounts to target Swinney, the Scottish National party, and the Scottish government on four occasions.
Viginum said BlackCore had focused its operations on municipal elections in France but had also targeted the mayoral elections in New York, won by Zohran Mamdani, and other countries such as Togo and Angola.
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The Viginum report alleges that Swinney, the SNP and the devolved government in Edinburgh were targeted by a specific campaign between 6 January and 8 May, before and during a hard-fought election for the Scottish parliament.
It said BlackCore had been involved with the “coordinated posting” and mobilisation of at least 256 accounts on the social media platform X, which enabled the distribution of about 1,400 comments. Swinney’s account was targeted 652 times, the SNP’s 338 and the Scottish government’s 112.
Swinney and fellow ministers have been vocal in their criticism of the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank, and have imposed a form of sanctions on the Israel Defense Forces by withholding state grants to arms firms that supply the IDF and freezing support for exports to Israel.
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See the original article at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/12/france-accuses-israeli-firm-interfering-scottish-elections-john-swinney-snp
