A pro-Russian X account used RT-branded video footage to amplify misleading claims that protests had spread to Brussels and forced European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to flee to safety. This same tweet has been used to illustrate
Published on October 24, the post combined genuine footage presented with Russian state-media branding and an unsupported allegation about the EU leader. The claim exaggerated the significance of actual demonstrations in Belgium, portraying them as evidence of a wider political crisis engulfing Europe.
The post generated more than 133,000 views, approximately 2,900 reposts and 8,800 likes, according to a screenshot of its engagement statistics.
The allegation was subsequently reproduced by Swedish alternative media and embedded in reporting by CNN Greece, extending its circulation into other European information environments.
The messaging closely reflects narrative patterns documented by Alliance4Europe in its October 22 investigation into foreign manipulation of protests in France, including Russian efforts to portray Europe as unstable and politically divided.
The Claim
On October 24, the X account @Alex_Oloyede2, identifying itself as Spetsnaℤ 007 and displaying a Russian flag and the pro-war Z symbol, posted:
“Protests have now spread to the EU capital. Massive protests have broken out in Brussels. Ursula has reportedly fled to a safer location.”
The post included a 27-second video displaying the branding of RT’s Russian-language operation, “RT НА РУССКОМ.”
The message combined genuine protest imagery with an unsubstantiated allegation that von der Leyen had fled Brussels, suggesting that public unrest was threatening the European Union’s political leadership.
The Facts
Protests did take place in Brussels on October 24. Several hundred demonstrators, primarily young people, gathered to protest education reforms, public spending decisions and alleged police violence.
Some confrontations occurred between police and protesters. However, the demonstrations were considerably smaller than unrest reported elsewhere in Belgium and France.
There is no credible evidence in the reviewed material that von der Leyen fled Brussels because of these demonstrations.
The post misleadingly presents distinct protests over domestic economic and political grievances as evidence of a spreading European political emergency.
Russian State-Media Connection
A screenshot of the original X post confirms that the embedded 27-second video displays RT’s Russian-language branding, “RT НА РУССКОМ.”
This provides a concrete connection between the account’s messaging and material carrying the branding of Russia’s state-controlled international broadcaster.
The account repurposed this material in an English-language post claiming that protests had spread across Europe and that the European Commission president had fled to safety.
The combination of Russian state-media video material and an unsupported claim about EU leadership illustrates how state-media reporting can be repackaged by sympathetic accounts into more sensational political narratives.
Importantly, the original RT video publication has not yet been identified and its complete contents have not been independently reviewed. It is therefore unclear whether the allegation concerning von der Leyen appeared in the RT material itself or was added by the X account.
The evidence establishes the reuse of RT-branded content, but does not demonstrate direct operational coordination between RT and @Alex_Oloyede2.
Narrative Context
An October 22 Alliance4Europe investigation documented how Russia-linked information operations and other foreign actors exploited genuine protests in France to intensify political divisions and portray Europe as descending into instability.
The investigation examined 547,471 posts across nine languages and identified 639 coordinated messages attributed with high confidence to Russia’s Doppelganger operation. Those messages collectively received approximately 7.4 million views.
Researchers found that genuine protests were frequently reframed through misleading claims about migration, political disorder and European institutional weakness.
The Brussels allegation follows a similar pattern. Genuine domestic protests are presented as part of a continent-wide crisis, while the unsupported claim that von der Leyen fled reinforces the impression that European leaders have lost control.
The reuse of RT-branded material strengthens the observed connection to the Russian state-media information environment, although no direct operational relationship with the Doppelganger network has been established.
Dissemination and Amplification
The original X post attracted considerable engagement, reaching 133,200 displayed views, approximately 2,900 reposts, 8,800 likes, 293 replies and 349 bookmarks by Sunday, October 25 at 15.00 Eastern Standard Time.
The allegation also circulated beyond its original English-language audience.
On October 24, Swedish conspiracy/alternative-media website Bakom kulisserna reproduced and translated the claim, placing it alongside accusations blaming migrants for European unrest and criticizing EU support for Ukraine.
The same day, CNN Greece embedded the original post in its coverage of the Brussels demonstrations. Although its surrounding reporting accurately described the protests, the inclusion of the post exposed readers to the unsupported allegation about von der Leyen. This represents a significant breakout of this narrative and requires immediate correcting by CNN’s editorial staff in Greece.
These examples demonstrate cross-language amplification and the movement of a misleading social-media claim into established news coverage.
The observed engagement and republication establish meaningful dissemination. They do not, on their own, demonstrate coordinated inauthentic activity.
Forecast
Similar narratives could be used to undermine confidence in European institutions, portray European governments as unable to maintain public order and weaken support for European assistance to Ukraine.
The combination of Russian state-media material, sensational commentary and cross-language amplification warrants continued monitoring, particularly for additional accounts circulating the same video or repeating the allegation.
There is currently insufficient evidence to establish a coordinated Russian campaign involving this account or to confirm Canadian amplification of the specific claim.
DisinfoWatch Assessment
This incident demonstrates how genuine European protests can be exploited to promote misleading narratives about the collapse of political authority.
The newly documented RT-branded video is significant. It establishes that the pro-Russian X account used material carrying Russian state-media branding to reinforce its portrayal of Europe as descending into political crisis.
The allegation about von der Leyen was unsupported, yet the post attracted substantial engagement and was subsequently reproduced in Swedish alternative media and Greek news coverage.
Its messaging closely resembles the patterns of manipulation documented by Alliance4Europe, in which genuine domestic grievances are repurposed to suggest broader European instability and discredit democratic institutions.
While the RT video provides a tangible connection to Russian state-media content, there is not yet sufficient technical or behavioural evidence to attribute the account to a coordinated Russian influence operation.