Nothing is off the table to prevent Russia from winning the war in Ukraine, not even sending ground troops. Since Emmanuel Macron held this position at the end of February, he has become a prime target of pro-Russian propaganda. In recent weeks, several false newspaper headlines caricaturing the French president have appeared on social networks. This disinformation campaign is based on various European media.
Was Emmanuel Macron caricatured on the front page of Charlie Hebdo in the March 20, 2024 edition? This is what several Internet users claim, wrongly, on social networks, with supporting images. We see Emmanuel Macron drawn, shirtless, French flag in hand, going on the attack with an army of bedbugs, rifles towards the sky. A direct reference to the famous painting Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix. Under this caricature, it is written “ only those who live well under Macron will follow Macron to Ukraine “, to know ” bedbugs », Adds a Russian-speaking comment in the caption.
In reality, this drawing was never published on the front page of Charlie Hebdo. By going on the official website of the French satirical weekly, we find the original cover from March 20, 2024. It is dedicated not to Emmanuel Macron, but to Vladimir Putin and the National Rally. Other elements of verification on this manipulated front page, the positioning of the bar code, the identification number of the newspaper and the titles of the articles do not correspond to the official newspaper.
Russian propaganda in action
According to our research, this fake news appears for the first time on the Telegram channel of a pro-Russian Ukrainian influencer, followed by more than 417,000 people. This is not the first time that this account has first shared false headlines which are then relayed en masse by traditional pro-Russian propaganda channels.
These broadcast relays also recently published another fake cover with Emmanuel Macron. This time, it is the identity of the Turkish magazine, Leman which is usurped. We see Emmanuel Macron, in the studio, before a television interview, while bedbugs bring him coffee and prepare the video equipment.
This caricature, published one day after the intervention of the Head of State on France 2, is called “ the president of the insects spoke “. Once again, the authentic cover of the magazine available on the website of Leman does not refer to Emmanuel Macron.
The bedbug story
To understand this constant reference to bedbugs in Russian propaganda, we have to go back to the end of last year when the psychosis around bedbugs invaded the public debate in France. The government now claims that this paranoia was ” artificially amplified ” by ” accounts linked to the Kremlin “. Since then, Russian propaganda has continued to convey this narrative to denigrate France. Fake newspaper front pages are one medium among others to push this narrative. Photo montages with bedbugs invading Paris have been circulating on social networks in recent weeks, so far quietly.
This shows that this lever of disinformation also risks being activated during the Olympic Games. A period highly exposed to informational attacks, coming from Russia and elsewhere.
Also listenStop fake, a decade of resistance to Russian disinformation in Ukraine