DISINFO: French press announced that Zelensky is politically dead in Ukraine

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

DISINFO: French press announced that Zelensky is politically dead in Ukraine

SUMMARY

As Ukrainians are tired of the war and impatient to be liberated by Russia, French newspaper Charlie Hebdo made its front page on the corpse of Zelensky in a coffin saying “Ukraine is an independent state”. The legend of the illustration is "A political corpse emits its last gases". This was published on Thursday 20 March 2025 for the 1705th issue of the French newspaper.

RESPONSE

Pro-Kremlin narratives against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the independence of the Ukrainian state.

This is fake as Charlie Hebdo is published weekly and not daily. It is published on Wednesdays and all the frontpages are visible on its website. The 1705th issue of Charlie Hebdo is due on 26 March 2025 not earlier. Moreover, fake frontpages of Charlie Hebdo are a well-known tactic used by Moscow's disinformation machine. See also Hijacking news: Fake media sites sow Ukraine disinformation.

Read also related stories such as: Western media understood Ukraine is for war and Russia for peace after Zelensky visit, or The whole of Ukraine is a huge concentration camp, or Zelensky’s 'victory plan' seeks to draw the US into the war.

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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