Digital Ads: $11 Million Campaign Targets Europe and US

Ordinary users in 30 countries encountered paid social media advertisements that promoted specific political and demographic narratives over a three-year period. The ads, which ran from October 2023 through October 2026, were designed to influence public opinion ahead of national and regional elections. The campaign targeted audiences in Europe, the United States, and Lebanon, with a particular focus on shaping perceptions of migration and regional power dynamics.

Two academics, Marc Owen Jones of Northwestern University and independent researcher Sohan Dsouza, published a report on Thursday detailing the scale of the operation. The investigation found that the campaign likely cost more than $11 million. The total number of advertisement exposures reached at least 533 million. These figures represent the volume of times users saw the ads on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook.

France received approximately one-third of all advertisement placements, making it the most targeted country in the operation. The United Kingdom recorded the highest number of individual exposures, totaling 154 million. The United States followed with 100 million exposures. The report noted that ad buying in France continued through the months leading up to the June 2024 European Parliament elections. In the United Kingdom, ad purchases stopped on May 17, 2024, just days before the general election was called.

The content of the ads frequently utilized the Great Replacement theory, a conspiracy theory suggesting that white populations are being displaced by immigrants. Jones explained that the campaign cast Qatar in the role typically assigned to George Soros in anti-Semitic narratives. The ads portrayed Qatar as a hidden power directing Muslim immigration to Islamize Europe. One specific TikTok campaign promoted regime change in Iran to European audiences. These ads began running on February 24, four days before the United States and Israel launched a war on the country.

The researchers stated that the evidence suggests the operation was launched from within Israel. Metadata analysis showed that video editors worked in the Israeli time zone. The digital files used in the production process contained Hebrew drive and folder names. The report assigned a moderate to high confidence level to the conclusion that the campaign served Israeli interests. The operation aimed to portray Qatar as the primary driver of mass migration intended to alter the religious composition of Europe.

Qatar has faced similar Israeli-linked campaigns in the past. Last month, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Israeli influence experts worked on a secret campaign targeting Doha in the weeks following the October 7, 2023, attacks. Israeli politicians have frequently criticized Qatar in recent years. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called for the country to be declared an enemy state. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party recently accused Doha of interfering in Israeli elections held on Tuesday. The Qatari Foreign Ministry denounced these allegations as a disinformation campaign.

The report warns that the campaign remains active in countries approaching major elections. France and Italy are scheduled to hold major votes in 2027. The researchers indicated that the sustained promotion of anti-Muslim and anti-migrant narratives raises concerns about attempts to shape the political environment beyond formal election periods. The study titled Manufacturing the Great Replacement documents this as one of the largest digital influence operations ever recorded.