Fifty thousand accounts spreading false news on X in France, Germany, and Italy before the European elections were identified by the specialized consulting firm Trollrensics
Many of these accounts were created after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They multiplied significantly before the elections for the European Parliament, thereby increasing their activity and the number of followers.
Using specialized software, the company analyzed over 2,000,000 posts from 468,000 accounts across Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands, identifying these 50,000 accounts as dissemination accounts.
The investigation was commissioned by the Dutch parties of the Socialists and the Democrats of the European Parliament.
“The impact of these accounts is significant, to a disturbing extent,” says the company Trollrensics. It adds, “We can confidently say that an extensive network of misinformation influenced the European Elections in Germany, Italy, and France.”
In France, more than 127,000 posts were related to Éric Zemmour, founder of the far-right party Reconquête, with 20% originating from accounts spreading disinformation.
Similarly, in Germany, 10% of posts related to the far-right Alternative für Deutschland came from such accounts. In Italy, the posts predominantly focused on debates surrounding refugees and vaccination. Researchers suggest that these percentages are likely even higher.
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