A company from Israel, BlackCore, is suspected of covertly disrupting\nlocal election processes in several countries, including New York City,\nScotland, and France. This was revealed by Viginium, a French\ndisinformation detection service.<\/p>\n
Last month, Reuters reported that French authorities suspected\nBlackCore of being the mastermind behind an online smear campaign\ntargeting three left-wing, pro-Palestinian mayoral candidates in local\nelections.<\/p>\n
In a press conference held on Thursday (11\/6) local time, French\nPrime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Viginium chief Marc-Antoine\nBrillant stated that technical tracing led them to conclude BlackCore\nwas responsible. Viginium also presented a detailed report on\nBlackCore\u2019s alleged illegal campaign activities across various parts of\nthe world.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis modus operandi is not limited to municipal elections in\nFrance,\u201d he said, as quoted by Reuters on Friday (12\/6\/2026). \u201cIt\nappears this modus operandi has also been used to conduct foreign\ndigital interference operations in other countries or regions, such as\nAngola, Togo, elections in Scotland, and the 2025 municipal elections in\nNew York,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
However, Brillant said it remains unclear who paid BlackCore to\ninterfere in the French local elections. \u201cOur investigation did not\nallow us to identify the sponsor behind this campaign,\u201d Brillant\nstated.<\/p>\n
Lecornu said the French government has asked Israel for an\nexplanation regarding BlackCore\u2019s actions. The government also requested\nIsrael\u2019s assistance in identifying the individuals behind the illegal\ncampaign launched by BlackCore.<\/p>\n
The Israeli Embassy in Paris confirmed that France had contacted them\nand said they were waiting to receive details of the French\ninvestigation to conduct their own inquiry. \u201cIsrael certainly has no\nintention of interfering in French political processes, whether at the\nnational or municipal level,\u201d the embassy said in a statement.<\/p>\n
New York and Scotland Also Victims<\/p>\n
Brillant did not explicitly name the target in last year\u2019s New York\nCity election, which was won by Zohran Mamdani. His victory delighted\nmany young progressive Jews but alarmed more traditional pro-Israel New\nYorkers due to his outspoken support for the Palestinian cause.<\/p>\n
Mamdani\u2019s team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.\nNeither did officials from New York City or New York State. The New York\nPolice Department and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security\nAgency (CISA) did not immediately reply to emails seeking comment. The\nFBI declined to comment.<\/p>\n
In a subsequent report, Viginium said it had detected accounts linked\nto BlackCore targeting John Swinney, Scotland\u2019s First Minister. Swinney\nhas described the situation in Gaza as a \u201cman-made humanitarian\ncatastrophe\u201d and has said genocide may be occurring, citing civilian\ncasualties, widespread destruction, and statements by Israeli\nofficials.<\/p>\n
Neither Swinney nor his party, the Scottish National Party, responded\nto requests for comment. An email seeking comment from Scottish election\nofficials was not immediately returned. The governments of Angola and\nTogo also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
Before removing its online presence following questions from Reuters,\nBlackCore described itself as \u201can elite technology, cyber, and influence\ncompany built for the modern era of information warfare.\u201d It did not\nrespond to Reuters\u2019 request for comment.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/israel-secretly-undermining-america-from-within-modus-operandi-revealed-1781261539", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }