Francophobia in the Kremlin (Francophobes in the Kremlin)
Information manipulators know how to throw mud against the intended target in order to impose the political agenda and interests of their masters in the Kremlin. In recent weeks and months, we have seen an ongoing disinformation campaign against France, and more specifically against the presidential family.
This anti-French campaign is proof that the notorious Russian “traditional values” are nothing more than a facade that hides the ugly reality – misogyny, hate speech and brutal discrimination against minorities. We witness how – except on this plot – The disinformation machine of the Kremlin is harnessed to spread baseless claims and about the attack on the concert hall “Crocus City Hall” near Moscow on March 22.
„The Insels“ around Putin attack the first lady of France
In Russian society, the role of women is increasingly reduced to being a symbol of fertility in an “ethno-nationalist, fascist iconography”. In this context, Kremlin propagandists have launched a misogynistic attack on the first lady of France, Brigitte Macron. Like the insel subculture, Kremlin propagandists seem to see strong, independent women as a particular threat. In a blatant display of hatred against women, and Brigitte Macron in particular, the Kremlin-controlled disinformation media is fanning and giving a platform to extremely ludicrous conspiracy theories about the French first lady. Particularly active in this task is “Pravda“ in its French version – publication that the French government agency “Viginum“ recently identified as part of a network spreading pro-Russian propaganda.
"A strong family is a strong Russia!" Three nice white babies and another one on the way! A dad serving in the navy! Icons on the wall!
Russian VK and Telegram groups are full of this terrible ethnonationalist, fascist iconography. pic.twitter.com/vIWtK1XMiV— Dr. Ian Garner (@irgarner) March 5, 2024
Who did the French piss off?
One cannot escape the thought that Paris has angered Russia and – along with President Macron's statement that nothing should be ruled out regarding military support for Ukraine – The Kremlin has now begun a more aggressive campaign to undermine French institutions. According to the twisted narrative of this campaign, Brigitte Macron does not exist as a woman, but is actually a man. By spreading thoroughly debunked conspiracy theories like this, Kremlin propagandists are trying to smear the French presidential family in a sickening display of pure hatred of women and minority groups. Tsargrad, one of the sanctioned Kremlin-linked propaganda channels, calls them "perverts".
France – imperialist, warmongering, Nazi, Russophobic
In addition to the attacks on the family of the French state voice, Kremlin mouthpieces were quick to implicate France in their familiar narratives. One recent example of recycled disinformation narratives suggests that France is involved in the impending partition of Ukraine – along with Poland, of course. Russian government ideologues organized fear mongering by presenting a threatening outside world in which Russia's enemies abound. In line with previous lies that France is involved in a war with Russia, the propagandists are now adding the disinformation that France is mass recruiting soldiers online – and this is obviously not true. To top it off, as always, the target of the Kremlin propaganda attack must be labeled a “Nazi” – without affixing this or any other offensive qualification, the work of denigration will appear unfinished. As if to avoid being suspected of such carelessness, several pro-Kremlin speakers casually threw in a bit of Russophobia and anti-Semitism during their appearance on Russian television discussing how Russia is not welcome at the Paris Olympics.
Conclusions
The Russian disinformation campaign against France is a textbook example of Moscow using information manipulation tactics to serve the country's political agenda. The disinformation narratives that the Kremlin's media network is spreading seek to undermine both public unity in France and people's confidence in the country's leadership. In addition, the aim is to harm France's interests abroad and its alliances such as the one with Ukraine. Russia's manipulation has an additional goal, namely to undermine the position of Paris in the French-speaking parts of Africa.
Other topics in this week's review from EUvsDisinfo:
- Bucha is a Hollywood production with the sole purpose of stopping the peace talks. Two years after the Russian armed forces carried out the horrific massacre in Bucha, leaving hundreds dead and tortured as they fled, the Kremlin's disinformation machine continues to deny the atrocities and spread conspiracy theories. In this case, the disinformation in Italian cynically claims that the Bucha was a staged event and promotes the delusion that Western leaders have failed the peace talks. Against this and other narratives surrounding the denial of the Bucha Massacre, we have clear evidence of Russia's deadly military occupation of Bucha, the situation a year later, and Moscow's lies in an attempt to cover up war crimes.
- Ukrainians are ungrateful: they attack Russians, and now – and the Baltimore Bridge. In the early hours of March 26, the “Francis Scott Key“ in Baltimore collapsed after the container ship “Do“ hit one of the bridge's support pillars. The Russian disinformation network quickly spread a false version of what happened: on March 28, the media wrote that the collapse was caused by an attack by Ukrainian military intelligence. To support the story, the propagandists used a fake social media profile of a real Ukrainian military unit. It was from this account that a post was made congratulating the fake “attack”. The goal behind pushing the disinformation narrative is to strain relations between Ukraine and its Western backers, in this case specifically the US, as well as portray Ukraine as an ungrateful country.
- Unlike Europe, Russia is peaceful and has never attacked anyone in its history. Another prime example of the Kremlin's approach to disinforming the world – approach of the “big lie”. Russia is presented as a benevolent player on the world stage and is suggested to be surrounded by malevolent forces with insidious intentions. This is used to justify ever-increasing repression in Russia and the Kremlin's continued military adventurism abroad. In the post-Soviet era alone, Russia has sent troops outside its territory at least seven times, not including Transnistria in 1992.
EUvsDisinfo/ translation: Representation of the European Commission in Bulgaria