EU report says Russian network used French riots to push anti-immigration claims
An internal EU assessment seen by Reuters says the Russian network Operation Overload used videos impersonating Western media to exploit France’s October riots, blaming unrest on immigration and portraying the government as having lost control. A separate French foreign ministry assessment found that accounts linked to Israel and the US MAGA movement also spread hostile narratives about the unrest. The EU assessment found no evidence that foreign actors instigated or escalated the protests.
Bottom line — France’s ministry counted more than 49 million views for the 10 most-viewed MAGA-linked posts, against 2.8 million for pro-Russian posts.
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The EU assessment says some impersonated-news videos falsely claimed migrants had raped protesters or terrorist attacks were imminent.
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The French ministry report says 10 of the most-viewed posts from Israeli officials, government accounts, media and influencers drew more than 35 million views from 16 to 18 October.
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Reuters could not independently verify claims in either assessment.
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President Emmanuel Macron said there had been no visible foreign interference behind the protests, but there had been foreign manipulation of information.
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The EU assessment says Operation Overload has been active since September 2023 and seeks to undermine support for Ukraine.