Paris: Olympics officials fear the Paris Games will be further targeted by misinformation and cyberattacks over the next three weeks following recent incidents which have been widely blamed on Russia.

Preparations for the event, which begin next week, stepped up a gear on Saturday as security teams scoured the banks of the River Seine ahead of Friday’s opening ceremony and top International Olympic Committee officials met in the French capital.

Security teams have swamped the city with more than 18,000 military officers and 35,000 police deployed while sniffer dogs were used on Saturday to check the 6km route along the river for the ceremony. Up to 7000 athletes will sail on nearly a hundred barges and river boats in front of 300,000 spectators.

Early on Saturday, a rehearsal for the ceremony was held on the river but security barriers and police screened it from the eyes of residents and media. Agencies are also on red-alert as the Israel-Hamas war has caused threats against Jews and Israelis to skyrocket in Europe.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams said it was clear that a targeted campaign against the Paris Olympics was already under way following a handful of incidents including a feature-length fake documentary that emerged in 2023 titled Olympics has Fallen which used AI-generated audio to impersonate Hollywood star Tom Cruise.

The film, falsely purporting to be a Netflix documentary, was apparently designed to erode global support for the Olympics.

IOC President Thomas Bach was targeted in March by hoax phone calls from a group in Russia pretending to be representing the African Union Commission.

“Clearly there is a campaign of some sort going on,” Adams told a press conference. “It’s not the first or last time that the IOC will be targeted with misinformation. It’s getting more and more sophisticated.