A covert network linked to Russia has exploited last month’s unrest in France to spread fabricated videos, false news reports and anti-migrant messages, seeking to fuel fear and deepen divisions within French society.
These are the findings of an internal European Union assessment obtained by international news agency Reuters, which published an investigation today into how foreign actors exploited the protests in France for political purposes, Sinjali reports.
According to the document, the network known as “Operation Overload” circulated social media videos imitating reports by well-known Western media outlets, spreading false claims that migrants had raped protesters and that terrorist attacks were imminent.
The operation’s stated objective, according to the European assessment, was to portray France’s leadership as weak and increasingly authoritarian, while undermining public trust in institutions and heightening social tensions.
Millions of social media views as MAGA-linked accounts also get involved
Reuters also obtained a separate assessment by the French Foreign Ministry, which found that accounts linked to Israel and the American MAGA movement had also participated in spreading hostile messages about the unrest.
These accounts connected the protests to migration and radical Islamism.
According to figures included in the assessments, between October 16 and 18, the ten most-viewed posts related to the unrest generated approximately 2.8 million views from pro-Russian accounts, more than 49 million from MAGA-linked accounts and over 35 million from accounts linked to Israel.
These figures illustrate the reach of the content identified in the reports, but do not establish that it directly influenced the course of the protests.
AI-generated videos and cloned voices
The “Operation Overload” network, which according to the EU assessment has been active since September 2023, used various manipulation techniques to make fabricated content appear authentic.
According to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, the campaign relied on videos imitating news broadcasts, AI-cloned expert voices, fabricated newspaper headlines and manipulated photographs.
Through these materials, the network sought to discredit Western institutions and weaken European support for Ukraine, promoting the narrative that governments were prioritising Ukraine over the problems facing their own citizens.
EU finds no evidence that Russia caused the unrest
However, the European Union assessment makes an important distinction: it found no evidence that Russia or other foreign actors organised or escalated the protests in France.
According to the document, the operation involved exploiting unrest that had already erupted in order to influence public opinion.
French President Emmanuel Macron also said on October 21 that there had been no visible foreign interference in triggering the protests, but that information manipulation from abroad had been observed in their aftermath.
Reuters noted that it had been unable to independently verify all the findings contained in the two internal assessments.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the latest findings.
