A secret network linked to Russia has exploited last month’s riots in France to spread counterfeit videos, false news and anti-immigrant messages with the aim of inciting fear and divisions in French society.
These are the findings of an internal assessment of the European Union, provided by the international agency Reuters, which has published today a research into how foreign actors have exploited protests in France for political purposes, the Signal newspaper reports.
According to the document, the network known as Operation Overload has distributed videos on social networks that imitated known Western media reports, spreading false claims that migrants had raped protesters and that terrorist attacks were inevitable.
The purpose of the operation, according to the European assessment, was to present French leadership as weak and increasingly authoritarian, promoting distrust of institutions and tensions in society.
Millions of social media views include accounts related to the MAGA movement
Reuters has also provided a special French Foreign Ministry assessment, according to which the distribution of hostile messages about the riots has also taken part in accounts related to Israel and the US movement MAGA.
These accounts have linked unrest with migration and radical Islam.
According to data included in estimates, during October 16th 18th, the top ten publications regarding the riots have collected about 2.8 million views from profiling accounts, over 49 million of the accounts related to MAGA and over 35 million related to Israel.
These figures show the extent of the content identified in the report, but do not prove that they have directly influenced the development of protests.
Videos created with artificial intelligence and cloned voices
The Internet Operation Overload) network, which according to European assessment has been active since September 2023, has used various manipulation techniques to make false content look like authentic reporting.
According to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, this campaign has used videos that imitate information editions, voice experts cloned through artificial intelligence, fake newspaper headlines and manipulated photographs.
Through these materials, the network has been aiming to discredit Western institutions and weaken European support for Ukraine, spreading the message that governments are giving priority to Ukraine ahead of the problems of their citizens.
EU has found no evidence that Russia has caused unrest
However, the European Union’s assessment makes a fundamental difference: no evidence has been found that Russia or other foreign actors have organised or escalated protests in France.
According to the document, it refers to the exploitation of already erupting riots with a view to public opinion.
French President Emmanuel Macron had also declared on October 21st that there were no visible foreign interference in causing protests, but that behind them was observed manipulation of information from abroad.
Reuters points out that it has not been able to independently verify all findings of two internal assessments.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has not responded to Reuters’s request for comment on recent findings.
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Source Layer: Signal