THE UK Government has refused to comment on the findings of a French government report stating that an Israeli firm attempted to meddle in the Scottish parliament elections.
An investigation by Viginum, France’s service for vigilance and protection against foreign digital interference, identified interference by Israeli firm BlackCore in elections in Scotland, France, New York City and elsewhere.
In Scotland, the agency reported identifying hundreds of fake accounts linked to BlackCore targeting John Swinney and the SNP on social media, with the operation ending on May 8, the day after Scots went to the polls.
While the SNP and First Minister have spoken out on the report, the UK Government refused to comment when approached by The National, saying it does not usually comment to security matters.
A spokesperson for the SNP said that the report “from France’s disinformation watchdog is deeply concerning and any interference in our democratic process must be thoroughly investigated”.
“Over the course of the Scottish election campaign, the SNP observed that posts across our social media platforms were subject to an unprecedented level of negative reactions and comments from accounts which appeared to be AI-generated bots,” the spokesperson went on.
“Our people powered digital campaign with authentic support from communities across Scotland countered these AI generated attacks and helped the SNP to a landslide victory.”
Speaking from the US, First Minister John Swinney urged the UK Government to take action in response to the report.
"It is clear that orchestrated disinformation campaigns and foreign election interference are issues which need to be taken seriously,” Swinney said.
"Urgent steps need to be taken to counter the threat of foreign online political interference, and ensure that our democratic processes are not undermined.
"That begins with the UK Government, which has responsibility for national security, making dealing with hostile state online interference a far higher priority."
Scottish Green co-leader Ross Greer also called for action from Westminster, asking if Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will "follow France's lead and summon the Israeli ambassador? Or will she continue Labour's tradition of letting them away with absolutely anything?"
Various polling experts also weighed in on the report's findings, with one Edinburgh University academic labelling them as "deeply concerning".
However, there is also reason to believe that interference is unlikely to dramatically change the outcome in Scotland, professor Ailsa Henderson, a politics and elections expert at the University of Edinburgh, told The National.
She explained: “Any attempted electoral interference, by any actor international or domestic, is deeply concerning. 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.
Polling expert Mark Diffley echoed this, telling 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.
After BlackCore 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.
