Macron in the video dispute: We only around!

Macron in the video dispute: We only around!

A video by Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, who was recorded during their state visit to Vietnam, currently attracts considerable attention. In the video you can see how Brigitte Macron gives her husband a push in the face. This event became the subject of numerous speculations and took a political turn when the spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Sacharova, mocked himself on Telegram. She jokingly commented that Brigitte Macron had beaten her husband, which indicates a clear attempt to exploit the situation for political purposes. This reports t-online.de .

Emmanuel Macron decidedly rejected speculation about an alleged marriage and assured that the scene was only a humorous moment. He had seen that the video of pro -Russian users and extreme political groups in France was misunderstood and exaggerated on social media. In the public reaction to the incident, there were mocking comments and photo montages that were distributed on social networks. Another incident that appeared in connection with the negative reports around Macron was the spread of false information about a suspected drug use in the night train to Kiev, which was also diffused by Sakharova. In addition, a supposed cocaine-like object in Macron's hand turned out to be a crumpled paper handkerchief, so Zeit.de .

disinformation and its risks

The recent incidents around Emmanuel Macron are not the first to indicate the mechanisms of disinformation. Already in the presidential election in France in 2017, there were massive attempts to undermine its candidacy through a defamation campaign. Russian state media and American Alt-Right groups carried out a broad disinformation campaign that was peppered with rumors and counterfeits. This campaign was initially unsuccessful, but the teachings that were drawn from it are relevant for the current circumstances. According to internationalpolitik.de sharpened incidents such as this the awareness of cyber threats and the need for the collaboration of authorities to combat disinformation.

Macron himself warned that false interpretations about him are repeated in circulation and are supported in particular by foreign actors and extreme political groups in France. In the political instrumentalization of such incidents, he sees a danger to the integrity of the public discussion and calls for remaining critical and informed.