- Operation Overload is a covert Russian network that exploited the October riots in France to spread disinformation about immigration and public security, according to an internal EU assessment obtained by Reuters.
- The EU analysis, covering October 7 to 21, found that Russia aimed to depict French leadership as weak and authoritarian.
- A report from the French foreign ministry identified that social media accounts linked to MAGA and Israeli movements pushed hostile narratives regarding the riots.
- On October 21, President Macron stated there was no visible foreign interference in the protests but acknowledged foreign manipulation of information.
- Operation Overload, active since September 2023, impersonates media and uses AI to clone voices to create disinformation aimed at sowing discord.
- The EU analysis revealed that the Russian network circulated fabricated media reports and manipulated videos to undermine confidence in French institutions.
- The French foreign ministry's report indicated that the 10 most-viewed X posts from MAGA-linked officials garnered over 49 million views during the unrest.
- The 10 most-viewed posts from Israeli officials received over 35 million views in the same period, highlighting the spread of hostile narratives.
- EU analysts found no evidence that foreign actors instigated the protests, describing their actions as opportunistic exploitation of unrest.
A covert Russian network known as Operation Overload has been linked to the spread of disinformation during the recent riots in France, according to an internal EU assessment. The operation aimed to undermine public confidence in French institutions by circulating fabricated media reports and manipulated videos.156
The EU analysis, covering October 7 to 21, revealed that Russia sought to depict the French leadership as weak and increasingly authoritarian. It found no evidence that foreign actors instigated the protests, describing the activity as opportunistic exploitation of unrest.29
In parallel, a French foreign ministry report highlighted that social media accounts associated with the MAGA movement and Israeli-linked figures also pushed hostile narratives around the riots, linking them to radical Islamism and migration. The ten most-viewed posts from MAGA-linked accounts garnered over 49 million views during the unrest, while Israeli-linked posts received more than 35 million views.378
Elina Treyger, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, noted that such campaigns create a slow-burning narrative competition that can shape perceptions of Western democracies. She emphasized that these narratives feed an anti-immigrant backlash pushing European voters toward political extremes.
French President Emmanuel Macron remarked that while there was no visible foreign interference in the protests, there was foreign manipulation of information.4
The EU report underscores the need for vigilance against disinformation tactics that exploit social tensions to undermine democratic institutions.
“The French foreign ministry's report found that pro-Russian X posts on the unrest drew 2.8 million views from October 16-18, while MAGA-linked posts drew over 49 million and Israeli-related posts over 35 million. Macron on October 21 acknowledged 'foreign manipulation of information' but no foreign instigation.”
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