Morocco YouTube channel platforms sanctioned Kremlin propagandists
Morocco-based ODC TV exploits platform gaps to deliver Kremlin narratives to 10.5M French-speaking viewers via sanctioned figures including Dugin, bypassing EU enforcement.
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A Morocco-based YouTube channel, Ondes de Chocs TV (ODC TV), has amassed over 10.5 million views and 124,000 subscribers while platforming EU-sanctioned Russian ideologues and pro-Kremlin propagandists to French-speaking audiences. The channel features high-profile sanctioned figures including Russian political philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, LPR officials Dmitry Sidorov and Vladyslav Deynego, and French propagandist Xavier Moreau. Despite hosting sanctioned content, the channel remains accessible throughout the European Union, illustrating enforcement gaps in content moderation on global video-sharing platforms.
Founded by Morocco-based influencer Rachid Achachi, ODC TV publishes documentaries advancing pro-Kremlin interpretations of the Ukraine conflict, including films shot in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic. The channel's "HEGEMON" series has accumulated over 1.2 million views and regularly features conspiracy theories, including suggestions that Western intelligence services orchestrated the 2024 Crocus City Hall attack. The channel also hosts extremist French-speaking influencers with ties to the far-right, including Alain Soral, convicted in France for Holocaust denial.
ODC TV operates across multiple platforms including YouTube, Rutube, Telegram, and Facebook, with page management split between France and Morocco. The channel's network connects to established pro-Kremlin French-language outlets including RT France contributors and fake election observers from the Donbas region. This case demonstrates how sanctioned Russian actors leverage third-country proxies to circumvent platform restrictions and reach Western audiences with Kremlin-aligned narratives.
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Source reporting: https://dfrlab.org/2026/04/10/morocco-based-youtube-channel-acts-as-french-language-proxy-for-sanctioned-kremlin-propagandists
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