Fake news: French magazine depicted Macron as a plucked rooster

President of France, Emmanuel Macron, has stated again that he does not rule out sending troops to Ukraine “to counter Russian forces”. Following the news, Belarusian pro-government media outlets published a fake cover of a French magazine, depicting the politician as a plucked chicken. The Weekly Top Fake team figured out what was wrong with the illustration.

On March 16, 2024, Emmanuel Macron spoke for the second time about potentially sending French troops to Ukraine. The statement led to increased interest in the politician from the Belarusian pro-government media outlets.

Two days later, the website of state-run Belteleradiocompany published a piece of fake news with the headline “The French are openly laughing at their Macron-Napoleon” paired with a picture of a fake French magazine’s cover.

“The French channel France 24 is cheerfully discussing the “long-awaited” magazine cover, where Macron is depicted as a plucked angry rooster,” the fake news says.

Belteleradiocompany refers to the Telegram channel “Shkvarka 2.0”, which also published the fake cover's picture and a video from the France 24 TV channel. On it, guests in the studio allegedly discuss the magazine's release.

Journalists from Weekly Top Fake discovered the original video on the channel’s website. There's a different magazine cover. There is no Macron on it and the chicken is not plucked.

Thus, the messages on the Belteleradiocompany website and on the Telegram channel “Shkvarka 2.0” both are fake news.

Other fakes of week:

A million hectares in two months? How Editors’ Club hosts “handed out” Ukrainian land to foreigners

Will grain prices for Germans and French consumers triple? Syrakvash presented Latvia’s transit tariff as a threat to European prices

€700 billion for war? Belarusian Radio attributed the entire difference between current and planned EU budgets to military spending

“Seize the private savings of EU citizens.” How SB turned voluntary investments into the confiscation of savings

Did the population of the cities in Western Belarus decrease while they were under Polish rule? Vadzim Hihin began his count 11 years before incorporation into Poland

French magazine depicted Macron as plucked chicken, Belarusian TV reported. We show original cover