On July 9, 2026 a 35-second video showing masked men in military gear making terrorist threats against France was disseminated on Telegram, X, and Facebook. The video implied the men were Hezbollah militants due to a Hezbollah badge visible on one actor's shoulder, and ended with the decapitation of a mannequin representing a French soldier. However, attentive analysis highlighted inconsistencies such as the speaker's non-Middle Eastern accent and the staging style uncharacteristic of Hezbollah communications. The video is identified as a false information (infox) operation linked to Russian propaganda efforts aimed at destabilizing France psychologically and discrediting its diplomacy. This follows a pattern of pro-Russian Storm 15-16 disinformation campaigns including at least three similar videos targeting France in recent years. On July 13, 2026, France summoned the Russian ambassador in response to a broad Russian cyber sabotage and espionage campaign. The video was spread mainly by pro-AES accounts supporting Sahel military juntas, as well as conspiracy and anti-Israel circles, and appears artificially amplified.

On July 9, 2026 a 35-second video showing masked men in military gear making terrorist threats against France was disseminated on Telegram, X, and Facebook. The video implied the men were Hezbollah militants due to a Hezbollah badge visible on one actor's shoulder, and ended with the decapitation of a mannequin representing a French soldier. However, attentive analysis highlighted inconsistencies such as the speaker's non-Middle Eastern accent and the staging style uncharacteristic of Hezbollah communications. The video is identified as a false information (infox) operation linked to Russian propaganda efforts aimed at destabilizing France psychologically and discrediting its diplomacy. This follows a pattern of pro-Russian Storm 15-16 disinformation campaigns including at least three similar videos targeting France in recent years. On July 13, 2026, France summoned the Russian ambassador in response to a broad Russian cyber sabotage and espionage campaign. The video was spread mainly by pro-AES accounts supporting Sahel military juntas, as well as conspiracy and anti-Israel circles, and appears artificially amplified.