The internet "influencers" approached include Léo Grasset, who runs a popular science site, and the comedian Sami Ouladitto. Between them, those who have so far admitted being contacted account for 1.5 million followers.
The offers were made several days after the European Union announced the finalisation of a contract for 1.8 billion doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The company involved in transmitting the offers, the London-based Fazzer, initially asked potential participants to take part in "an information campaign", which would involve "talking about the vaccines currently available in Europe, especially AstraZeneca and Pfizer".
Incroyable.
— Léo Grasset (@dirtybiology) May 24, 2021
L'adresse de l'agence londonienne qui m'a contacté est bidon. Ils n'ont jamais eu de locaux là bas, c'est un centre laser esthétique ! Tous les employés ont des profils LinkedIn chelous... qui disparaissent depuis ce matin. Tout le monde a bossé en Russie avant.
WTF pic.twitter.com/RKiEpYoMgV
After an exchange of e-mails, in which the influencer was asked to provide his audience statistics and profile, the tone of Fazzer's requirements changed dramatically.
Léo Grasset was asked to make it clear to his followers that "the death rate associated with the Pfizer vaccine is three times higher than that of AstraZeneca," and to stress that this was "based on official information".
He was also asked to explain that the European Union decision to buy Pfizer, despite the information about the dangers posed, was due to a market monopoly and would cause damage to the European public health system.
None of these claims is verifiable.
Participants were asked to provide an internet link to a site which contained "information never before published," and which supports the claim of the more elevated death rate for Pfizer. The site and the supposed "information" were both created on the same day, 14 May 2021.
French daily newspaper Le Figaro says Fazzer's website is "bright and relatively complete," even if it presents very little information about the company. There are no recommendations from previous major clients.
Russian-owned company
Le Figaro says that, in fact, Fazzer is owned by AdNowInternational, a holding company founded by the Russian businessman Vladimir Bashking.
The managing director, identified as Vyacheslav U, is based in Moscow, and the marketing director, Christina Khvan, is a Russian national.
The company has refused to reveal the name of the person or persons behind the alleged campaign
The European Union has already noted that Russia and China have been behind certain disinformation campaigns during the Covid pandemic, notably with a view to enhancing the profile of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.
Le Figaro also points out that the major pharmaceutical firms themselves make frequent use of web influencers to boost their products.
It is against the law in France to promote any product or service on the internet in return for sponsorship, unless the site makes the commercial link explicit.
