Ceuta migration crisis fuelled by Russia-linked disinformation campaign, report says

Russia-linked social media accounts promoted far-right narratives during the Ceuta migration crisis, reaching hundreds of thousands of users within hours, according to a new analysis by counter-disinformation group 411.

According to The Guardian, researchers found accounts linked to the Russian military helped spread claims that the mass border crossings into the Spanish enclave were a coordinated "assault" and suggested authorities were complicit.

Some posts also included Islamophobic and antisemitic conspiracy theories.

The analysis examined about 4.5 million social media posts and found the content was reproduced in seven languages, generating more than 720,000 views within six hours on August 1.

Researchers also found that social media played a role in encouraging migrants to attempt the crossing, with online discussions providing practical advice.

The report said this activity appeared to be organic and came "overwhelmingly from small, anonymous-looking individual accounts rather than any single identifiable ‘recruiter’ channel".

The report identified Telegram channel Rybar, which has links to Russian intelligence, as one source of the disinformation campaign.

Posts were then amplified through networks including accounts associated with the Pravda network.

Lead researcher Ned Mendez told The Guardian: "You could compare the process to a highly specific and organised information superhighway."