An academic report published Thursday detailed a three-year, paid-for influence operation that promoted racist, Islamophobic and anti-Qatar views, saying evidence suggested with moderate to high confidence that the operation was launched from within Israel. The investigation uncovered at least 533 million exposures of social media advertisements across 30 countries; the operation likely cost more than $11 million.
The report, titled Manufacturing the "Great Replacement", was compiled over three years by Marc Owen Jones, a professor at Northwestern University's Doha campus, and independent researcher Sohan Dsouza. It tracked advertisements on YouTube, TikTok and Facebook, which had exposures between October 2023 and October 2026.
The researchers called it 'perhaps one of the biggest digital influence and disinformation operations ever documented'. Jones said that in Europe the ads used the structure of the Great Replacement conspiracy theory, which says white people are being replaced by immigrants. 'Qatar takes the role that anti-Semitic versions give to George Soros: a hidden power directing Muslim immigration to "Islamise" Europe,' Jones said.
France accounted for about a third of all ad placements, the highest share of any country, while the largest number of exposures was recorded in the United Kingdom, at 154 million. The United States followed with 100 million exposures.
Le Monde reported that a historical analysis of the ads suggested they repeatedly sought to align with electoral calendars. Buying in France ran through the months before the June 2024 European Parliament elections, and UK buying stopped on 17 May 2024, days before the general election was called. '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,' the researchers said. The report warned the campaign remains active in countries approaching major elections, including France and Italy in 2027.
Separately, a TikTok campaign promoting regime change in Iran began running on 24 February, days before the US and Israel launched their war on the country, the investigation found.
Last month, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz found that Israeli influence experts had worked on a secret campaign targeting Doha. Most recently, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party accused Qatar, without evidence, of interfering in Israeli elections. The Qatari Foreign Ministry has denounced the allegations as a 'disinformation campaign'.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The report details a highly sophisticated, state-linked influence campaign that operated for three years with minimal platform obstruction, raising urgent questions about digital governance.
- It demonstrates how the 'Great Replacement' conspiracy theory is being actively weaponised against Qatar in Western political discourse ahead of elections.
- The allegations come amid a heated diplomatic conflict where both Israel and Qatar have accused each other of election interference.
Background
The report Manufacturing the "Great Replacement" is the product of a three-year investigation by two academics. It details a paid influence operation running from October 2023 to October 2026 across 30 countries, costing over $11 million. The narrative weaponised the 'Great Replacement' conspiracy theory, casting Qatar in the role of a hidden power orchestrating Muslim immigration to Europe. Metadata analysis led researchers to conclude with moderate to high confidence that the operation was launched from within Israel.
Key Perspectives
Marc Owen Jones and Sohan Dsouza (Researchers): Uncovered what they describe as a massive influence operation pushing anti-Muslim and anti-Qatar narratives, with evidence suggesting it originated from within Israel.
Likud party (Israel): Accused Qatar of interfering in the 2026 Israeli elections.
Qatari Foreign Ministry: Denied the Likud allegations of election interference, calling them a 'disinformation campaign'.
What to Watch
- Whether social media platforms take action to remove the remaining ads or accounts identified in the report.
- Upcoming elections in France and Italy in 2027, which the report warns remain active targets of the campaign.
- Potential diplomatic fallout or further investigations following the reciprocal accusations between Israel and Qatar.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedThe headline links the influence operation to Israel.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “According to the report, the evidence suggests with “moderate to high confidence” that the influence operation was launched from within Israel”
- SupportedThe operation’s advertisements had at least 533 million exposures across 30 countries.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “Their report uncovered at least 533 million exposures of social media advertisements promoting anti-Muslim, anti-migrant, racist and anti-Qatar views between October 2023 and October 2026.”
- SupportedThe operation likely cost more than $11 million.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “It detailed an operation that likely cost more than $11m and was carried out across 30 countries”
- SupportedA three-year investigation was published on Thursday and covered an operation promoting racist, Islamophobic and anti-Qatar views.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “A years-long, paid-for influence operation promoting racist, Islamophobic and anti-Qatar views has been uncovered by two academics, with the evidence suggesting the campaign was intended to serve Israeli interests. The investigation, which took three years, was published on Thursday.”
- SupportedThe report was titled “Manufacturing the ‘Great Replacement’” and was produced by Marc Owen Jones and Sohan Dsouza.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “Marc Owen Jones, a professor at Northwestern University’s Doha campus, and independent researcher Sohan Dsouza, the academics who published the report”
- SupportedThe researchers called the operation “perhaps one of the biggest digital influence and disinformation operations ever documented”.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “called it “perhaps one of the biggest digital influence and disinformation operations ever documented”.”
- SupportedJones said, “Qatar takes the role that anti-Semitic versions give to George Soros: a hidden power directing Muslim immigration to ‘Islamise’ Europe”.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: ““Qatar takes the role that anti-Semitic versions give to George Soros: a hidden power directing Muslim immigration to ‘Islamise’ Europe,” he noted”
- SupportedFrance accounted for about a third of ad placements, the highest share among the countries targeted.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “France accounted for about a third of the total number of placements, the highest share among the countries targeted, the report said.”
- SupportedThe UK had the largest number of exposures, at 154 million.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “the advertisements recorded the largest number of exposures in the United Kingdom, at 154 million.”
- SupportedThe United States had 100 million exposures, the second-highest number.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “The US came second, with 100 million.”
- SupportedThe researchers said the operation’s sustained promotion of anti-Muslim and anti-migrant narratives raised concerns about shaping the political environment ahead of votes beyond formal election campaigns.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: ““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,” they added.”
- SupportedA TikTok campaign promoting regime change in Iran began on 24 February, four days before the US and Israel launched their war on Iran.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “The ads first began running on February 24, four days before the US and Israel launched their war on the country, the investigation found.”
