Macron: It's a mistake to get information from social networks - Russians buy fake accounts to destabilize Europe

French President Emmanuel Macron called for “a much stronger program of protection and regulation in Europe” in response to foreign interference through social networks and abuses of information on the platforms, NOVA reported.

“These are platforms created to sell personalized advertising“, he told the Paris Peace Forum - a series of debates dedicated to global governance.

“But above all, they are driven by a process that aims to create maximum excitement, which will generate maximum traffic in order to maximize their advertising pages, and in this way the entire system of values on which our democracies are based, the connection with argumentation, the truth, has been completely destroyed“, he pointed out, quoted by AFP.

“We have done all kinds of stupid things, it is completely wrong to get information from there and that is why we must regain control of our democratic life and information by introducing regulations“, Macron insisted.

He stressed that today the biggest buyers fake accounts are the Russians' way of destabilizing European democracies.

“We are in a situation of intervention on steroids“, the French head of state is categorical. In this context “we will introduce a much more powerful program of protection and regulation in Europe“, Macron pointed out.

“I believe deeply in innovation, but I do not believe for a moment in innovation that serves the dark forces“, Macron stressed.

French MP Louis Boyard, representative of the left-wing party “Submissive France“ and one of President Emmanuel Macron's harshest critics, has caused a storm on social media after he was filmed in an unusual situation, NOVA reported.

A short video taken behind the scenes before a television interview shows Boyar taking off his watch seconds before standing in front of the camera. During the interview itself, he spoke out against the “rich“ and “ultra-rich“, which sparked a wave of accusations of hypocrisy.

The clip has already been viewed nearly 3 million times. Argentine President Javier Milley commented on the case as an example of “political hypocrisy and populism“.

Boyar himself explained that his watch was a gift for his 25th birthday and cost around 395 euros, but many remain skeptical.