Russia Exploited French Riots With Fake News, EU Assessment Says
A covert Russian-linked network used fake news videos to exploit riots in France in October, according to an internal EU assessment. Investigators found no evidence Russia started the unrest. A separate French document points to pro-Israel and MAGA-linked narratives that drew far more views.
A covert Russian-linked network used fake news reports and manipulated social media content to exploit violent protests in France in October, according to an internal European Union assessment. The campaign cast the unrest as proof of uncontrolled immigration and a government losing control.
The restricted document was prepared by disinformation specialists in the EU's diplomatic service. It covered online activity between Oct. 7 and 21.
What the campaign did
The operation, known as Operation Overload, circulated videos that impersonated Western media organizations. They included fabricated reports that migrants had raped protesters and warnings of imminent terrorist attacks.
The EU analysts found the network tried to portray French leaders as weak and increasingly authoritarian. It also sought to amplify public anger over immigration.
One point matters here. Investigators found no evidence that Russia or other foreign actors started the protests or made the violence worse. The operation exploited unrest already under way.
Riots over living costs
Riots broke out in several French cities in October after demonstrations over rising living costs, fuel prices and declining public services turned violent. Yellow Vest protesters, labor unions and student groups joined the marches. Some of the worst clashes came on Oct. 17.
Other foreign narratives
Russia was not the only foreign-linked source of distortion. A separate internal assessment by France's foreign ministry identified what it called "hostile narratives" from social media accounts linked to Israel and the American Make America Great Again movement.
Those posts often tied the violence to radical Islamism and migration, even though the demonstrations were organized around economic grievances.
The French document compared reach on X, formerly Twitter, from Oct. 16 to 18. The 10 most-viewed posts about the riots from pro-Russian accounts drew a combined 2.8 million views.
The top 10 posts from MAGA-linked officials, media outlets and influencers drew more than 49 million views. The top 10 from Israeli officials, government accounts, media organizations and influencers topped 35 million.
Those figures measure views of selected posts, not unique audiences or the total reach of each network. They also do not show that the accounts acted as part of a coordinated campaign.
Neither assessment has been made public, and not all of their claims could be independently verified. French President Emmanuel Macron had already criticized foreign leaders for repeating misleading claims about the unrest.
A long-running operation
Operation Overload, also called Matryoshka, has been active since at least September 2023. It has repeatedly impersonated news organizations, journalists and public figures.
A 2024 investigation by Viginum, the French agency that detects foreign online interference, found the network targeted audiences in more than 60 countries. It typically spreads false content through one set of accounts, then has others amplify it by tagging established journalists, newsrooms and fact-checkers.
