Academic Investigation Uncovers Years-Long Anti-Qatar Influence Campaign

A multi-million dollar digital influence operation promoting racist, Islamophobic, and anti-Qatar views has been uncovered by two researchers following a three-year academic investigation. The extensive campaign, which likely cost upward of eleven million dollars, targeted thirty countries including the United States, European nations, and Lebanon, exposing millions of internet users to targeted advertisements on major social media platforms.

Published on Thursday, the report is titled Manufacturing the “Great Replacement” and was authored by Marc Owen Jones, a professor at Northwestern University’s Doha campus, and independent researcher Sohan Dsouza. The academics described the effort as one of the largest digital disinformation campaigns ever documented. Between October 2023 and October 2026, the network generated at least 533 million exposures of advertisements pushing anti-Muslim, anti-migrant, and anti-Qatar narratives. Investigators noted that ad placements frequently aligned with national electoral calendars, raising concerns about foreign interference in democratic votes.

France accounted for the highest share of advertisement placements, representing about a third of the total, while the United Kingdom recorded the largest number of exposures at 154 million, followed by the United States with 100 million. Researchers observed that European ads utilized conspiracy theories alleging white populations are being replaced by immigrants, with Qatar substituted for traditional anti-Semitic tropes as a hidden power driving Muslim immigration. Additional findings showed that a separate campaign on TikTok promoted regime change in Iran ahead of military actions by the United States and Israel.

Evidence suggests a multi-million dollar influence campaign aimed to portray Qatar as driving European mass migration.

Metadata analysis provided moderate to high confidence that the operation originated within Israel. Technical indicators revealed video editors working in the Israeli time zone and utilizing machines with Hebrew drive and folder names. The findings follow previous reports of influence operations targeting Doha, alongside various statements and accusations involving Israeli political figures and Qatari officials.

Why it matters

This investigation highlights the growing scale and sophistication of cross-border digital disinformation operations designed to shape political landscapes and target specific nations ahead of elections. By documenting how covert campaigns leverage social media algorithms to spread discriminatory narratives and geopolitical agendas, the report underscores the ongoing challenges facing electoral integrity and global information security.