France condemned "hostile" disinformation manoeuvres after the country's authorities on Monday (Feb. 12) accused Russia of operating a long-running online manipulation campaign against Ukraine's Western backers, in the lead up to the second anniversary of Moscow's military invasion of its neighbour. The French foreign ministry said in a statement "no manipulation attempt will distract France from its support for Ukraine in the face of Russia's war of aggression."

Earlier in the week, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said that a network of "at least 193" websites had been set up with the aim "to spread Russian disinformation," speaking alongside his German and Polish counterparts after a meeting near Paris involving Ukraine-related talks and other issues. The French agency responsible for fighting foreign digital interference, Viginum, released a report describing the network codenamed "Portal Kombat" that it analysed between September and December in 2023. Viginum said it involves websites using the name "pravda" targeting countries including France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States.

A wealthy ex-general with ties to both Indonesia's popular outgoing president and its dictatorial past has been elected as its next leader. He's promised to continue the outgoing president's widely popular policies, but his human rights record has activists and some analysts concerned about the future of Indonesia's democracy. Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto presented himself as heir to the immensely popular President Joko Widodo, vowing to continue the modernisation agenda that's brought rapid growth and vaunted Indonesia into the ranks of middle-income countries.

Protesters in the lead up to Wednesday's (Feb. 14) election accused Jokowi of abuse of power and electoral interference. They argue he just wanted to retain his influence in politics. It was a good deal for Prabowo. Many voters told the BBC they trusted whomever Jokowi endorsed. Prabowo pulled ahead quickly in the counting, with nearly 60% of the vote in the first round, precluding any need for a run-off. During his victory speech he addressed thousands of supporters in the stadium, making light of references to the past.

India's top court has struck down a scheme that allowed people to make anonymous donations to political parties, calling it unconstitutional. Electoral bonds were launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in 2018 to make political funding more transparent. But critics say it's done the opposite and made the process more opaque. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has received most of the funds through the bonds. The scheme was challenged in the Supreme Court as a "distortion of democracy".

On Thursday, a five-judge constitution bench ruled that electoral bonds violate citizens' right to access information held by the government. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said the Right to Information law is "not confined to state affairs but also includes information necessary for participatory democracy". Undeclared individuals and companies bought such bonds worth 165.18 billion rupees ($1.99bn) up to November 2023, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms, which works on election funding in India.

Venezuela's government ordered the local United Nations office on human rights to suspend operations and gave its staff 72 hours to leave, accusing it of assisting coup plotters and terrorist groups. Foreign Affairs Minister Yván Gil announced the decision at a news conference in Caracas, which came amid heightened concerns that the government is repressing real or perceived opponents in an election year. Nearly a week ago, Venezuela detained a prominent human rights attorney and members of her family, setting off a wave of criticism inside and outside the country.

Gil said the local technical advisory office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, authorised in 2019, was supposed "to improve, to optimise," human rights. Instead, he said, it had become an "international sounding board to maintain a discourse against the Bolivarian government and against the Venezuelan people."