Propaganda media exist for one reason and one reason only — to advance their left-wing political allies’ destructive agenda. Anyone who tuned into their coverage of this weekend’s French riots experienced this unspoken mission statement firsthand.
As far-left radicals and Islamists dressed in dark clothes and masks and wielding Palestinian flags desecrated historic buildings and landmarks throughout the once-respectable republic, the “democracy dies in darkness” crowd worked overtime to convince audiences at home that these violent riots were nothing more than “student protests” against school policies.
While characterizing the riots as “some of the worst violence the country has witnessed for decades,” Reuters described the leftist and Third Worlder violence as “demonstrations against rising living costs and declining public services [that] spiralled out of control.” The Associated Press similarly dubbed the riots “nationwide protests against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools.”
On X, the Seattle-based KOMO News summarized this weekend’s violence as “student demonstrations over teacher shortages and poor school conditions [that] broadened into a nationwide protest over rising living costs and fuel prices.” The English division of the Qatari-backed Al Jazeera also described the riots “spreading” in France and other European nations as “student protests.”
— John Daniel Davidson (@johnddavidson) October 19, 2026One of the (only) great things about social media is that we can all see for ourselves that these aren’t “student protests” about wealth inequality or whatever other propaganda the media and dimwits like Ro Khanna are pushing.
We can all see these are Muslim riots, organized by… https://t.co/hDY1yoTHL2
CBS News joined in on the fun with its own unique spin on things. Embracing the media’s “fiery but mostly peaceful” framing of America’s 2020 “summer of love” riots, the outlet blatantly mischaracterized left-wing anarchists’ violent clashes with French law enforcement in a now-unavailable tweet as mere “scuffles … between police and small groups of protestors.”
Canada’s Global News also described the violent riots as “scuffles” in an X post.
Meanwhile, The New York Times’ Catherine Porter opted to go for her own version of “Republicans pounce!” The supposed “reporter” penned an article titled “France’s Far Right Seizes the Moment as Rioting Stuns the Country,” which analyzed how the European nation’s conservative National Rally party will use Sunday’s riots as “a day of political opportunity.”
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) October 19, 2026BBC Claims French Riots Were ‘Mostly Peaceful’ While Showing Country on Fire
They did the meme! https://t.co/gaiOBza8uN
The media’s malpractice comes amid a Fox News investigation that found that roughly a third of the organizations behind the uprisings “are student or youth organizations, including communist youth groups and a Muslim student association.” The others, the outlet reported, “include adult-led communist groups, labor unions, political parties, revolutionary-left organizations, advocacy groups and international propaganda outlets.”
Several of the groups are reportedly tied to Neville Roy Singham, a pro-China leftist moneyman tied to Marxist protest and disruptor organizations.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood