Presidential Election 2022: SMS on behalf of Eric Zemmour sent to members of Jewish community

The far-right candidate team asserts to targeted these voters through a “Data Broker”, a broker in personal data. The latter targeted persons interested in the question of anti-Semitism.

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Friday, April 8 In the evening, a few hours from the beginning of the electoral truce, many French people of Jewish confession were surprised to receive, by SMS, a message signed by Eric Zemmour. “Will we be able to live in peace for a long time in France? (…) Your children rely on you”, wrote the candidate of the Party reconquest! in the presidential election.

Screenshot / World

Inside this message, a link returning to a site of the farmhouse campaign containing a long text, entitled “Message of Eric Zemmour to the French of Jewish confession” . It refers to “the expansion of Islam” and terrorism, denounces the “discreet generalization of the hallal”, mentions the victims of anti-Semitic murders and worries about the “profanation of many Jewish graves”. It also said opposite to the prohibition of “ritual slaughter” and “circumcision”.

This communication shocked a number of the recipients of the messages, some of which have feared Eric Zemmour to have a Jewish confession French file. In any case, it allows to throw a raw light on how personal data makes it possible to deduce the religious confession of an individual and can be used in an election campaign.

solicited by BFM-TV , the campaign team of Eric Zemmour A in Effect explained to have used a “Data Broker”. These personal data brokers collect information from several sources, build personal databases before providing their client (here, an election campaign) the means to send their message to potential voters of their choice.

Targeted French because interested in the issue of anti-Semitism

Here, according to the polemicist campaign team, the broker had assembled a list of people who expressed interest in “the subject of anti-Semitism in France and Europe”. These data would come from “blogs, information sites or newsletters” devoted to this theme. A diverted means of constituting a list of people who are more likely than the average to be of Jewish confession.

This type of information is considered by legislation as particularly sensitive. The manipulation of data revealing religion is even prohibited, alongside information reflecting the political or sexual orientation of individuals, for example. Some exceptions, however, are provided for by law, especially if the persons concerned have given their explicit agreement so that such data is used.

This is the argument that the Eric Zemmour team puts forward, always cited by BFM-TV. It states that it has received the guarantee from the broker that the persons had given their consent to the fact that their data, in the telephone instance, be shared for political purposes.

/Media reports.