On March 29, 2017, Russian state-sponsored media outlet Sputnik released a misleading poll showing Francois Fillon (a conservative candidate favoring closer ties with Russia) as leading in the French presidential election. The article cited Moscow-based Brand Analytics, but France’s polling commission issued a warning, having determined that the polling data was not representative of public opinion as defined under French law. Senator Richard Burr, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), warned that Russia was attempting to interfere in the French election to the detriment of the frontrunner, Emmanuel Macron, who supported a hard line against Russia.