Kremlin and China spend billions to destabilise adversaries
According to a report by the French Senate concerning foreign interference and information manipulation, the Kremlin spends over £870 million annually on destabilising its political opponents. China is also "keeping up."
The RTL portal revealed the French Senate report on foreign interference. Senator Rachid Temal notes in his findings that France is the main target of high-level information manipulation attacks, while most interference originates from Russia.
Billions of euros and many agents
Every year, the Kremlin is said to spend over £870 million on destabilising its opponents. Examples of such actions in France include painting red hands at Jewish memorials in Paris or painting blue Stars of David on building facades.
As RTL writes, "less aggressive China is not being outpaced." Beijing is said to have engaged two million agents in using social networks to promote the Chinese regime. Additionally, smaller countries that do not have military strength are said to attack France "in all directions." Azerbaijan is cited as a symbol of what the report calls "weaponisation," meaning making these manipulations weapons themselves.
The report lists 47 recommendations for countering these threats. One idea is to strengthen media education for young people to help them recognise disinformation. Another is to prohibit political parties from borrowing money from abroad.
