About a month after the Hamas-led terror attack in Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed almost 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage, blue Stars of David began appearing on walls across Paris.
At first, the incidents were assumed to be antisemitic, but investigations later suggested they were part of a Russian disinformation campaign.
Two Moldovan couples are said to have spray-painted the stars on walls in the French capital for a small fee, following instructions from someone abroad.
The intention was to create confusion and mistrust rather than to send an explicitly antisemitic message.
FILE - A man walks by Stars of David tagged on a wall in Paris, on Oct. 31, 2023 Michel Euler/Copyright 2023 The AP. All rights reserved.
From Putin memes to sabotage
In Germany, too, people are being hired to carry out small‑scale sabotage and espionage on behalf of foreign actors.
The Federal Intelligence Service (BND), the Federal Criminal Police (BKA), the domestic intelligence service (BfV) and the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) believe Russia is behind the recruitment of so‑called "low-level agents".
These "agents" are usually recruited via social media and paid small sums to carry out minor tasks, such as photographing critical or mil
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