EXPERTS have said an Israeli firm's interference in the Scottish election is "deeply concerning".
Viginum, the French government service tasked with detecting foreign digital interference, said on Thursday that BlackCore – an Israeli-based company – had been linked to covert smear and manipulation campaigns reaching Scotland as well as New York City.
A subsequent report said BlackCore-linked accounts had targeted Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney, who has described the situation in Gaza as a “man-made humanitarian catastrophe” and warned that a genocide “may be unfolding”.
After the firm was approached for comment on the report by Reuters, it appears to have gone to ground, with its website and social media presence being wiped. The identity of those behind the Israeli organisation has not been established.
Professor Ailsa Henderson, a politics and elections expert at the University of Edinburgh, told The National the news was worrying for democracy, but cast doubt on whether the alleged actions of BlackCore would have had any significant cut-through.
“Any attempted electoral interference, by any actor international or domestic, is deeply concerning," she said. "It is essential that democratic contests are free and fair.
"On this specific case, any targeting of John Swinney for his comments on Gaza would have struggled for two reasons.
"The Scottish electorate still votes on constitutional lines, which serves as a bit of a protective factor for both the SNP and for the First Minister personally. But more obviously, the Scottish electorate agrees with him about Gaza. They’re divided on the constitution but they’re not divided on that."
Henderson cited a poll from Ipsos which shows only 9% of the UK public think the Israeli military's actions are right, while another from Opinium shows 67% want sanctions on Israel.
The information about Scotland appears in the report from Viginum about an “information operation” that targeted the March 2026 municipal elections in France.
It says there were hundreds of fake accounts targeting Swinney and the SNP on social media, with the operation ending on May 8, the day after Scots went to the polls.
Polling expert Mark Diffley told The National: "All electoral interference is deeply concerning for the future of our democratic processes.
"The targeting of the First Minister for his views on the situation in Gaza is unlikely to have had a significant impact on the recent election as the core SNP support will share his views and because this was not a core election issue for voters.
"Despite that, it is important to address all examples of interference and protect our systems and processes."
Before wiping its online footprint following questions from Reuters, BlackCore had billed itself as “an elite influence, cyber, and technology company built for the modern era of information warfare”, offering governments and political campaigns tools “to shape narratives”.
