France derides Russia’s false claim of drug use by Macron, Merz and Starmer
Élysée warns against Kremlin’s disinformation efforts after ‘cocaine’ conspiracy theory spreads online
The Élysée Palace has derided as “disinformation” claims being promoted by Kremlin figures that Emmanuel Macron took cocaine with Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, and Keir Starmer while on a train travelling to Kyiv.
The false claims, which emerged on pro-Russian social media channels before being taken up by a Kremlin spokesperson and another official, come amid a recent surge in Kremlin efforts to marginalise European efforts to support Ukraine.
Continue reading…Related Knowledge Center: Information integrity
In an increasingly fractured media landscape, truth has been a casualty in the public discussion. Coverage has been warped by the business needs of struggling news organizations, and a significant segment of the public relies on bad-faith outlets that are little more than propagandists. While fact-checking has become routine, some organizations are exploring other ways to combat the trends. And misinformation spewed by AI-driven chatbots has become more of a feature than simply a bug.
Fact-checking and its detractors