Amid recent protests and violence in France, attempts to influence public opinion by spreading misleading information on social media have been revealed. According to an internal European Union (EU) report, a covert network linked to Russia was using the protests to portray the French government as weak and helpless. A separate report by France’s foreign ministry also mentioned the activity of social media accounts linked to Israel and MAGA-supporting groups in the United States.
According to Reuters, the Russia-linked “Operation Overload” network used the names and identities of Western media organisations to circulate fake videos and posts. These included false claims such as migrants committing sexual assault against protesters and possible terrorist attacks. The aim was to increase fear and division among people and portray France’s leadership as weak. According to the report, the campaign also attempted to build sentiment against European support for Ukraine.
The French foreign ministry’s report analysed the most-viewed posts on social media platform X between 16 and 18 October. It said 10 key posts by pro-Russia groups received 2.8 million views, MAGA-linked posts received more than 49 million views, and Israel-linked posts received more than 35 million views.
However, the EU report made it clear that foreign networks did not start the protests, nor was there direct evidence that they incited them. Their role was found to be limited to using the ongoing unrest for their own interests.
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