Latest news with #Kyiv-bound
Local France
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Local France
Tracking the disinfo on Macron's 'cocaine use' in Ukraine
One post, by a French far-right activist, quickly spread across the internet after being picked up by US conspiracy theorists and making its way to Russia's leadership. The posts on various social media platforms shared actual footage of Macron, Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the Kyiv-bound train last Saturday. As Merz and Starmer arrive in the compartment, Macron is seen removing a white tissue from the table. The posts claimed, inaccurately, that the tissue was a bag of cocaine. Pictures and video taken inside the train by AFP and other media showed that the white object was a crumpled tissue. The conspiracy-laden posts nevertheless accumulated tens of millions of views worldwide. On Sunday, Macron's office dismissed the rumour as "fake news... being spread by France's enemies". France has repeatedly warned about Russian disinformation campaigns in Europe that have grown in intensity during Moscow's war on Ukraine. A 'crowd phenomenon' This latest attack built on previous claims among conspiracy theorists that Macron has a cocaine habit. As Justin Poncet, a specialist in online analysis, told AFP, some of the accounts attacking Macron have nicknamed him "powdered". One security source said that French-language accounts started the rumour before it passed to Russian-language accounts and was picked up by senior officials in Moscow. Advertisement US conspiracy theorists such as Alex Jones, with the large audience he commands, helped amplify the message. Antibot4Navalny, an online collective tracking trolls farms that spread disinformation, conducted its own analysis. "'Macron, Merz and Starmer were doing coke together on the train' is UNLIKELY a Russian disinfo campaign," the collective posted on X. "Kremlin-aligned Telegram channels and online media did AMPLIFY it," it added. "But the earliest viral tweets were likely first published BEFORE that, by authentic users." The attack on Macron was not one that was widely coordinated, said Poncet. But he added: "We're talking about several spheres" but only connected to each other in a fleeting way. Together however, they turned online rumour into a "crowd phenomenon", he said. 'Little white bag' Tracing any such viral smear to its source is difficult. But one diplomatic source said that the French authorities had on Saturday found a comment on an X account under a video on Macron's train trip suggesting there were little white bags on the table. That was reposted on French-language X accounts with screen captures of the video showing the three leaders, said one security source. Advertisement The spread of the rumour had picked up pace by Saturday evening. At 7:46 pm the French-language RadioRoma account was sharing the video, asking about the "little white bag" Macron was "hiding from the camera". A subsequent post from that account on the same subject picked up 3.4 million views and was shared 5,000 times over three days, AFP noted. The account is owned by Louis Bopea, formerly a senior figure in France's far-right National Rally who is particularly active online. Many of his followers helped spread the rumour. 'Enemies of France' By midday on Sunday, far-right French politicians such as Florian Philippot and Nicolas Dupont-Aignan had joined the hue and cry. ("What is Macron hiding?!" posted Philippot.) In Moscow, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova picked up the ball, as did Kirill Dmitriev, a senior envoy for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia's news media, including the English-language site of also ran with the story. Alex Jones also joined in on Sunday with a post to his 4.5 million subscribers on X that was massively viewed. Jones was successfully sued for defamation by families of the victims of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
France 24
15-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Tracking the disinfo on Macron's 'cocaine use' in Ukraine
One post, by a French far-right activist, quickly spread across the internet after being picked up by US conspiracy theorists and making its way to Russia's leadership. The posts on various social media platforms shared actual footage of Macron, Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the Kyiv-bound train last Saturday. As Merz and Starmer arrive in the compartment, Macron is seen removing a white tissue from the table. The posts claimed, inaccurately, that the tissue was a bag of cocaine. Pictures and video taken inside the train by AFP and other media showed that the white object was a crumpled tissue. The conspiracy-laden posts nevertheless accumulated tens of millions of views worldwide. On Sunday, Macron's office dismissed the rumour as "fake news... being spread by France's enemies". France has repeatedly warned about Russian disinformation campaigns in Europe that have grown in intensity during Moscow's war on Ukraine. A 'crowd phenomenon' This latest attack built on previous claims among conspiracy theorists that Macron has a cocaine habit. As Justin Poncet, a specialist in online analysis, told AFP, some of the accounts attacking Macron have nicknamed him "powdered". One security source said that French-language accounts started the rumour before it passed to Russian-language accounts and was picked up by senior officials in Moscow. US conspiracy theorists such as Alex Jones, with the large audience he commands, helped amplify the message. Antibot4Navalny, an online collective tracking trolls farms that spread disinformation, conducted its own analysis. "'Macron, Merz and Starmer were doing coke together on the train' is UNLIKELY a Russian disinfo campaign," the collective posted on X. "Kremlin-aligned Telegram channels and online media did AMPLIFY it," it added. "But the earliest viral tweets were likely first published BEFORE that, by authentic users." The attack on Macron was not one that was widely coordinated, said Poncet. But he added: "We're talking about several spheres" but only connected to each other in a fleeting way. Together however, they turned online rumour into a "crowd phenomenon", he said. 'Little white bag' Tracing any such viral smear to its source is difficult. But one diplomatic source said that the French authorities had on Saturday found a comment on an X account under a video on Macron's train trip suggesting there were little white bags on the table. That was reposted on French-language X accounts with screen captures of the video showing the three leaders, said one security source. The spread of the rumour had picked up pace by Saturday evening. At 7:46 pm the French-language RadioRoma account was sharing the video, asking about the "little white bag" Macron was "hiding from the camera". A subsequent post from that account on the same subject picked up 3.4 million views and was shared 5,000 times over three days, AFP noted. The account is owned by Louis Bopea, formerly a senior figure in France's far-right National Rally who is particularly active online. Many of his followers helped spread the rumour. 'Enemies of France' By midday on Sunday, far-right French politicians such as Florian Philippot and Nicolas Dupont-Aignan had joined the hue and cry. ("What is Macron hiding?!" posted Philippot.) In Moscow, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova picked up the ball, as did Kirill Dmitriev, a senior envoy for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Jones was successfully sued for defamation by families of the victims of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
Iraqi News
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Iraqi News
Iran challenges four countries in UN court over jet it downed in 2020
The Hague – Iran on Thursday filed a challenge at the International Court of Justice against Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and Britain over a UN aviation body's ruling against it related to the shooting down of a passenger plane in 2020. The four countries had citizens on a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 that was downed shortly after takeoff from Tehran on January 8, 2020. All 176 people on board were killed. Three days later, Iran admitted that its military fired two surface-to-air missiles at the Kyiv-bound plane but said it was by mistake. Iran is appealing a March decision of the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) over the jet's downing. The Montreal-based ICAO decided it had jurisdiction to rule on a case brought by the four countries against Iran, that accuses Tehran of 'using weapons against a civil aircraft in flight'. Iran called on the ICJ to rule that ICAO did not have jurisdiction and to quash its decision. Tehran said in its application to the ICJ that its military had downed flight PS752 'unintentionally and due to human error'. 'The Iranian military had misidentified and targeted the flight by two missiles without obtaining authorisation, contrary to mandatory military regulations,' Iran told the court. Tehran added that its military had been in 'a period of heightened military alert… in anticipation of a possible attack by US military forces'. Tensions between Iran and the United States had been soaring at the time the airliner was shot down. Iranian air defences were on high alert for a US counterattack after Tehran fired missiles at a military base in Iraq used by American forces. – 'Accountability' sought – Britain's foreign ministry had welcomed ICAO's March decision, saying it took the countries 'a step closer to holding Iran to account for its illegal downing' of the plane. 'We will now proceed to the next phase in our case against Iran at ICAO…. We remain committed to seeking justice, transparency, and accountability for the 176 innocent victims and their families,' the UK ministry said. In a separate case, the four countries dragged Iran before the ICJ in 2023 asking the court to make Tehran pay 'full compensation' to the families. In 2020, Iran offered to pay '$150,000 or the equivalent in euros' to each of the victims' families. Ukrainian and Canadian officials strongly criticised the announcement, saying compensation should not be settled through unilateral declarations. The ICJ was set up after World War II to rule on disputes between UN member states.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iran challenges four countries in UN court over jet it downed in 2020
Iran on Thursday filed a challenge at the International Court of Justice against Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and Britain over a UN aviation body's ruling against it related to the shooting down of a passenger plane in 2020. The four countries had citizens on a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 that was downed shortly after takeoff from Tehran on January 8, 2020. All 176 people on board were killed. Three days later, Iran admitted that its military fired two surface-to-air missiles at the Kyiv-bound plane but said it was by mistake. Iran is appealing a March decision of the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) over the jet's downing. The Montreal-based ICAO decided it had jurisdiction to rule on a case brought by the four countries against Iran, that accuses Tehran of "using weapons against a civil aircraft in flight". Iran called on the ICJ to rule that ICAO did not have jurisdiction and to quash its decision. Tehran said in its application to the ICJ that its military had downed flight PS752 "unintentionally and due to human error". "The Iranian military had misidentified and targeted the flight by two missiles without obtaining authorisation, contrary to mandatory military regulations," Iran told the court. Tehran added that its military had been in "a period of heightened military alert... in anticipation of a possible attack by US military forces". Tensions between Iran and the United States had been soaring at the time the airliner was shot down. Iranian air defences were on high alert for a US counterattack after Tehran fired missiles at a military base in Iraq used by American forces. - 'Accountability' sought - Britain's foreign ministry had welcomed ICAO's March decision, saying it took the countries "a step closer to holding Iran to account for its illegal downing" of the plane. "We will now proceed to the next phase in our case against Iran at ICAO.... We remain committed to seeking justice, transparency, and accountability for the 176 innocent victims and their families," the UK ministry said. In a separate case, the four countries dragged Iran before the ICJ in 2023 asking the court to make Tehran pay "full compensation" to the families. In 2020, Iran offered to pay "$150,000 or the equivalent in euros" to each of the victims' families. Ukrainian and Canadian officials strongly criticised the announcement, saying compensation should not be settled through unilateral declarations. The ICJ was set up after World War II to rule on disputes between UN member states. ric/jhe/rmb
