The networks and narratives of anti-refugee disinformation in Europe

The report identifies a network of nearly 5,000 social media accounts producing over 280,000 messages in 2020 to spread anti-refugee disinformation. It highlights how key events, such as the Evros border crisis and the Moria camp fires, served as flashpoints for transnational mobilisation. The research demonstrates a significant overlap between mainstream political parties—such as the AfD in Germany and New Democracy in Greece—and far-right extremist ecosystems. Common narratives include the 'Great Replacement' conspiracy, the depiction of refugees as 'invaders' or 'soldiers', and the targeting of NGOs with claims of criminal complicity in human smuggling. The report concludes that anti-migrant discourse is increasingly transnational and integrated into broader geopolitical tensions, such as Greek-Turkish relations.

• The study identified a network of 4,937 social media channels across Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram that produced 280,627 posts in 2020. This included 1,117 Greek channels (99,013 messages), 950 German channels (54,342 messages), and 2,870 English channels (127,284 messages).
• Far-right extremism is highly transnational, with 60% of the analysed sub-groups containing far-right elements. The refugee crisis activated networks not only in Europe but also in Canada, Australia, and the United States.
• There is a documented overlap between mainstream political actors and far-right extremists. In Germany, 41% of the German language network showed interconnection between channels associated with the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and far-right extremist channels.
• Elected officials have amplified anti-refugee disinformation. In Greece, comments by New Democracy government spokesperson Stelios Petsas regarding refugee deaths at the border were widely shared. In Germany, AfD Bundestag member Johannes Huber described refugees as 'oriental invaders'.
• Specific events acted as catalysts for spikes in activity: the Evros border incident in March 2020 and the Moria refugee camp fires in September 2020. German language activity surged by 115% during the Evros crisis, while Greek language activity surged by 75% around the Moria fires.
• NGOs are frequent targets of disinformation, often accused of being part of conspiracies to 'Islamise' Europe or replace native populations. Specific claims in Greece and Germany suggested NGOs were involved in smuggling drugs and people.
• Anti-refugee narratives are often merged with broader geopolitical tensions. In Greece, refugees are depicted as a 'weapon' of the Turkish state, with claims that Turkey inserts 'saboteurs and jihadists' into refugee flows to destabilise the country.
• Transnational mobilisation is evidenced by activists travelling across borders to produce content. German activist Rebecca Sommer travelled to Lesvos to document the Moria fires, producing content that stoked anti-NGO sentiment in both Germany and Greece.

APA

Institute for Strategic Dialogue (2021). The networks and narratives of anti-refugee disinformation in Europe. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/The-networks-and-narratives-of-anti-migrant-discourse-in-Europe.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Strategic Dialogue. The networks and narratives of anti-refugee disinformation in Europe. 2021. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/The-networks-and-narratives-of-anti-migrant-discourse-in-Europe.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Strategic Dialogue |title=The networks and narratives of anti-refugee disinformation in Europe |date=2021 |url=https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/The-networks-and-narratives-of-anti-migrant-discourse-in-Europe.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforstrategicdialogue2021networks, author = {{Institute for Strategic Dialogue}}, title = {{The networks and narratives of anti-refugee disinformation in Europe}}, institution = {Institute for Strategic Dialogue}, year = {2021}, url = {https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/The-networks-and-narratives-of-anti-migrant-discourse-in-Europe.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }