Fringe online communities in France adopt US voter fraud narratives

ISD Research Manager Cécile Simmons wrote an op-ed in Le Monde about the circulation of voter fraud narratives in fringe communities on social media during the 2022 French elections. She argues that these voter fraud narratives reflect a wider adoption of international conspiracies by French online communities, especially from the US.

Although they didn’t cause extreme polarisation this round, the persistence of these narratives during the 2022 legislative elections shows they could resurface in future electoral races and pose a long-term risk for French society.

Cecile, along with analysts Sasha Morinière and Roman Adamczyk, tracked the trajectory of French disinformation all along the campaign trail, during and after the final votes on mainstream platforms Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and alt-platforms Telegram and Odysee.

Their findings can be found here.