A new global investigation has revealed that entities linked to Israel operated a massive anti-Muslim disinformation network spanning multiple continents.
The study, titled Manufacturing The Great Replacement, tracked the network from October 2023 through October 2026. Researchers calculated that the operation generated roughly 800 million advertising exposures across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East.
Researchers Marc Owen Jones and Sohan Dsouza documented the operation. They described the initiative as one of the largest influence and disinformation campaigns ever recorded.
One specific campaign within the network, named Grand Theft Qatar, portrayed Emiratis purchasing European buildings and turning them into mosques.
The broader operation heavily pushed the Great Replacement. This conspiracy theory falsely asserts that migration and demographic shifts are intentionally replacing white Europeans with nonwhite populations.
Researcher Sohan Dsouza told reporters that investigators could not definitively link the network to the Israeli government. However, the evidence shows that the entities involved are based in Israel and maintain connections to influence operations run by the state.
Investigators traced the initial activities of the campaign to Israel by following a trail through Vietnamese proxy companies. After Meta took enforcement action in May 2024, the operation went dark before resurfacing in November and later pivoting to Brazilian corporate entities.
A spokesperson for Meta stated that the company continuously works to identify and disrupt coordinated inauthentic behaviour. The platform added that its Community Standards strictly forbid hate speech, harmful misinformation, deceptive behavior, and coordinated inauthentic activity.
In response to the findings, the researchers urged governments to implement stricter regulations. Their recommendations include mandatory identity verification requirements for social media advertisers and faster intervention against coordinated influence operations.
