EU says Russian network exploited French riots through social media

A covert Russian-linked network sought to exploit recent riots in France by spreading misleading content on social media, while accounts linked to Israel and the US MAGA movement also promoted hostile narratives about the unrest, according to internal European and French assessments seen by Reuters.

A covert Russian-linked network sought to exploit recent riots in France by spreading misleading content on social media, while accounts linked to Israel and the US MAGA movement also promoted hostile narratives about the unrest, according to internal European and French assessments seen by Reuters.

An internal European Union assessment said the network, known as “Operation Overload”, used videos impersonating Western media outlets to target French audiences and spread false claims about the unrest.

Some posts falsely claimed that migrants had raped protesters or that terrorist attacks were imminent, the assessment said.

The EU report, covering October 7 to 21, said the operation sought to portray French leaders as weak and increasingly authoritarian, while fuelling fear and division and undermining public trust in institutions.

However, the assessment found no evidence that Russia or other foreign actors had instigated or escalated the protests, describing their activity as the “opportunistic exploitation of unrest”.

A separate assessment by France’s foreign ministry found that social media accounts linked to Israel and the US MAGA movement also circulated what it called “hostile narratives” about the riots, linking them to radical Islamism and migration.

The French assessment said the 10 most-viewed posts about the unrest from pro-Russian accounts on X received 2.8 million views between October 16 and 18. Posts by MAGA-linked officials, media outlets and influencers attracted more than 49 million views, while those from Israeli officials, government accounts, media outlets and influencers received more than 35 million views over the same period.

The EU assessment said Operation Overload had been active since September 2023 and had targeted Western public figures, institutions and media outlets, seeking to discredit them and weaken support for Ukraine while promoting content aligned with Russian interests.

Reuters said it could not independently verify claims made in either assessment. Russia’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s Foreign Ministry also did not respond.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova previously rejected allegations that Moscow was spreading disinformation about France’s 2027 elections, calling them an attempt by French authorities to manipulate public opinion.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on October 21 that there had been no visible foreign interference behind the protests, but that there had been “foreign manipulation of information”.