Massive Influence Operation Promoting Racism, Islamophobia, and Anti-Qatar Views Linked to Israeli Interests Uncovered

A sophisticated, multi-year, paid influence operation disseminating racist, Islamophobic, and anti-Qatar viewpoints has been exposed by two academics. The evidence gathered suggests the campaign was orchestrated to benefit Israeli interests. This extensive investigation, spanning three years, was published on Thursday and detailed an operation estimated to have cost over $11 million, conducted across 30 countries, including nations in Europe, the United States, and Lebanon.

As part of this campaign, millions of internet users were exposed to advertisements on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook. These ads promoted a specific agenda, according to the report titled "Manufacturing the “Great Replacement” ." Marc Owen Jones, a professor at Northwestern University’s Doha campus, and independent researcher Sohan Dsouza, the academics behind the report, described it as "perhaps one of the biggest digital influence and disinformation operations ever documented." Their findings revealed at least 533 million exposures to social media advertisements pushing anti-Muslim, anti-migrant, racist, and anti-Qatar sentiments between October 2023 and October 2026. The report also noted that these advertisements were strategically launched in advance of elections in several targeted countries.

An example highlighted by the French newspaper Le Monde focused on the campaign's targeting of France. The newspaper stated that a historical analysis of the ads suggested their backers consistently aimed to align with national electoral calendars. Advertising in France ran during the months leading up to the June 2024 European Parliament elections, and ad placements in the UK ceased on May 17, 2024, just days before the general election was announced. The researchers commented, "Its sustained promotion of anti-Muslim and anti-migrant narratives raises concerns about attempts to shape the political environment ahead of these votes, beyond the formal election campaign period." Furthermore, the report cautioned that "the campaign remains active in countries approaching major elections, including France and Italy in 2027."

Qatar was a significant target, with France accounting for approximately one-third of all advertisement placements, the highest share among the targeted nations. The United Kingdom recorded the largest number of exposures, with 154 million, while the United States followed with 100 million.

Jones explained, "In Europe, the ads use the structure of the Great Replacement conspiracy theory, that white people are being replaced by immigrants." He added, "Qatar takes the role that anti-Semitic versions give to George Soros: a hidden power directing Muslim immigration to ‘Islamise’ Europe." Separately, one of the campaigns featured on TikTok advocated for regime change in Iran, targeting audiences in Europe. The investigation found these ads began running on February 24, four days prior to the US and Israel launching military actions against the country.

The report indicates with "moderate to high confidence" that the influence operation originated from within Israel and aimed to depict Qatar as the primary instigator of mass migration intended to allegedly "Islamise" Europe. Metadata analysis by the researchers revealed that video editors involved in the campaign worked within the Israeli time zone and utilized machines with Hebrew drive and folder names.

Qatar has been the subject of previous Israeli-linked campaigns. Last month, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that a group of Israeli influence experts and political advisors were involved in a covert campaign targeting Doha in the weeks following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks. Israeli politicians have also frequently criticized Qatar in recent years; former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called for the country to be declared an enemy state. Most recently, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, without providing evidence, accused Doha of interfering in Israeli elections held on Tuesday. The Qatari Foreign Ministry has condemned these allegations as a "disinformation campaign."