Russia, MAGA and Israeli Accounts Exploited France Riots to Fuel Anti-Immigrant Sentiment

Foreign disinformation networks linked to Russia, the American MAGA movement, and Israeli accounts exploited riots across France to advance political agendas and fuel anti-immigration sentiment, according to internal European Union and French government assessments.

An internal European Union assessment reviewed by Reuters revealed that a covert Russian network known as Operation Overload circulated fabricated videos impersonating western media outlets to exploit the unrest.

During the October protests in France, the network distributed false reports through videos styled to resemble established western news organizations. The EU document covered the period from October 7 to 21 and concluded that the operation aimed to portray the French leadership as weak and increasingly authoritarian.

#russia , #maga and #israel -Linked Accounts Exploited #france Riots

By presenting these claims through videos resembling reports from established western media organisations, the operation sought to make false information appear credible and encourage public distrust of French authorities. The Kremlin has attempted to undermine support for Ukraine through these digital echo chambers.

Such events offer opportunities to weaken national governments, foster fear and division, and shape public opinion ahead of elections,

EU diplomatic service disinformation specialists, via Protothema

The EU investigation found no evidence that foreign actors had instigated or escalated the protests themselves. Instead, the activity represented an opportunistic effort to capitalize on existing domestic crises stemming from inflation, rising fuel prices, and socioeconomic pressures. Assessments by the European Union and France have established that this network uses fake newspaper headlines, doctored images and videos featuring the voices of experts cloned using artificial intelligence.

Russian Network Exploited French Riots, EU Report Says

A separate internal assessment by France’s foreign ministry examined the reach of social media narratives pushed by Russian, Israeli-linked, and US MAGA-linked accounts. While pro-Russian posts received millions of views, accounts associated with the American MAGA movement and Israeli officials and influencers generated tens of millions of views associating the unrest with migration and radical Islamism.

A separate analysis by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has shown that it was not only pro-Russian networks that were spreading negative reports about the unrest, with posts from MAGA and Israeli accounts having racked up tens of millions of views.

Account Network	Observed Period	Top 10 Posts Reach
Israeli-linked accounts	October 16–18	Over 35 million views
US MAGA movement	October 16–18	More than 49 million views

The assessment measured the reach of the most-viewed posts on X during the peak of the unrest but did not establish formal coordination between the different foreign groups.

Mass protests in France over the rising cost of living and clashes with the police — Photo: UkrMedia News

French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged the threat of foreign information manipulation while maintaining that there was no visible foreign interference behind the organization of the protests.

France’s disinformation monitoring agency, Viginum, published a detailed report examining Operation Overload and similar Russian influence campaigns.