His liking for meditation, his partner's longterm illness, the fact that they were unable to have children...

"P" – whose identity Le Monde has chosen not to reveal – is not under police surveillance, he's just a researcher studying the impact of pesticides on human health. But every aspect of his private and professional life is of great interest to the chemical industry. And the same can be said for hundreds of other people.

Through a private online platform, executives from leading pesticide and biotechnology manufacturers have, for several years, had access to a vast file of profiles of those considered "critical" of intensive agriculture, which makes massive use of chemical inputs and genetically modified organisms.

The scale and precision of these files are unprecedented. They contain information on families, private lives, assets and income, personal addresses, criminal records, political opinions, and often misleading and malicious information. The database accumulates ammunition, ready to be used to destabilize or discredit those profiled.

Obtained by the Lighthouse Reports consortium of journalists and shared with Le Monde and other international media outlets, the documents contained in this platform – dubbed "Bonus Eventus" – include information on more than 500 scientists, environmental activists, journalists and even UN experts. It appears far more detailed, and sulfurous, than the "Monsanto file" which gathered details on critics of chemicals and genetically modified crops, and was uncovered in May 2019 by France 2 television and Le Monde.

In that case, the Fleishman-Hillard public relations firm, acting on behalf of agrochemical firm Monsanto, had drawn up a list of more than 200 high-profile French figures (political leaders, scientists, journalists, activists) and ranked them according to their opinions on Monsanto products and their credibility in the public debate.

Black box

The Bonus Eventus file of "background on the critics" goes much further. A few investigative journalists were aware of the existence of this platform, but until now none had managed to enter this black box of the information war waged by agrochemical and biotech industrialists against those they describe as "opponents".

Access to the platform is controlled by a login and password, assigned by v-Fluence, the reputation management company driving the system, which specializes in the defense of agribusiness interests. The allocation of accounts for Bonus Eventus is done by co-option. According to our information, around 1,000 people have been granted an entry to this very selective club.

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