Charlie Hebdo sues over fake covers criticizing Zelensky
French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo has filed a complaint with a Paris court over the publication's distribution of fake covers that promote anti-Ukrainian narratives of Russian propaganda. In particular, they defame the reputation of President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Charlie Hebdo announced this on its website.
According to the editorial office, about 15 fake covers have appeared during the three years of the war. The fakes imitate the newspaper's style and use its logo and signatures of staff cartoonists.
A common feature of the fakes is their support for Putin's policies, Charlie Hebdo noted.
The publication reported that it did not know the author and customer of the forgeries, so it appealed to the court to initiate an investigation to identify the individuals involved and protect the newspaper's reputation.
"We consider it important to publicly refute these cartoons, which may mislead uninformed readers into believing that Charlie Hebdo shares the same views as Putin and his clique," the editorial board said.
It is noted that all fake covers defame Ukraine's reputation, in particular, they ridicule Europe and France's support for Volodymyr Zelensky and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"Numerous reports and investigations have demonstrated that Putin's war machine is also a media war machine that will stop at nothing to influence public opinion in democratic countries. These pathetic drawings are part of this brainwashing strategy," the newspaper said.
Fake Charlie Hebdo pages are distributed mainly on Telegram and the X network. The newspaper called for spreading information on social networks about the existing fakes and the danger of Russian propaganda.
- On April 30, 2024, it was reported that most European Union countries were influenced by Russian online propaganda ahead of the European Parliament elections in June of that year.
- On June 8, it became known that European satellite companies were suffering from Russian attempts to interfere with broadcasts – propaganda broadcast in Russian was turned on on children's TV channels.
- On April 16, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he was closing the State Department office that had been countering foreign disinformation, particularly Russian disinformation, accusing it of censorship and waste of taxpayer money.
