French authorities say they have uncovered a crude Russia-linked disinformation campaign falsely claiming that President Emmanuel Macron was connected to Jeffrey Epstein, the Mossad asset who honey-trapped thousands of politicians, businessmen and others.
The allegations emerged after the US Justice Department released millions of documents tied to the Epstein investigation, prompting widespread speculation involving high-profile figures, even though the files contain no evidence against Macron.
France’s anti-disinformation agency Viginum identified a fabricated video accusing Macron, which was published on a fake website impersonating the French outlet France-Soir and linked to the Storm-1516 network. The video, falsely attributed to Le Parisien journalist Victor Cousin, claimed to expose nonexistent documents incriminating the French president, leading Cousin to file a police complaint over the theft of his identity.
Officials traced the operation to the CopyCop network, associated with US fugitive John Mark Dougan, who is believed to support the digital infrastructure behind Storm-1516 campaigns. The fake content was first shared by a social media account known for relaying pro-Russian narratives and was rapidly amplified by multiple coordinated accounts monitored by French authorities.
As with previous disinformation efforts, the campaign relied on AI-dubbed videos, altered screenshots, and fabricated claims involving Jeffrey Epstein and Jean-Luc Brunel to give the false story an appearance of credibility.
Ehud Barak, former Israeli PM and friend of Epstein
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