Zelensky's visit to Paris: Russian propaganda invents TV show and fakes Charlie Hebdo cover

Russian propagandists are attempting to discredit President Volodymyr Zelensky and undermine the significance of his visit to France in the eyes of Western audiences.

Russian and Hungarian media outlets, along with pro-war Telegram channels and bots on the social media platform X, have been circulating a video purportedly showing a meeting between President Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron during the reopening of the reconstructed Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

In the video, during what appears to be NBC's live broadcast of the ceremony, an advertisement for a fictional television show titled "Great Thieves of the 21st Century" allegedly aired as the two leaders greeted each other. Propagandists claim this was a deliberate insinuation by U.S. journalists about the French and Ukrainian leaders.

This claim is entirely false. There was no such advertisement during NBC's live broadcast, as can be confirmed by viewing the footage on the official YouTube channel of the American broadcaster.

The purported ad, supposedly scheduled to air on NBC at 20:00 the same day, further exposes the hoax. The meeting in Paris occurred on December 7, and according to NBC's guide, no such show was listed on that date. In fact, "Great Thieves of the 21st Century" does not exist on NBC's lineup, nor is it mentioned on the channel's official website or social media platforms.

Another fabrication being circulated by Russian Telegram channels concerns a supposed cover of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. This fake cover depicts President Zelensky as Quasimodo from Victor Hugo's "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame."

This too is a fabrication. The alleged cover, dated December 9 and bearing issue number 1690, does not exist on Charlie Hebdo's official website or social media accounts. The last issue of the magazine was published on December 4, and as a weekly publication released every Wednesday, the next issue, number 1690, is scheduled for December 11 -- not December 9, as the fake cover claims.

Through such disinformation, Russian propagandists aim to shift the narrative surrounding the positive outcomes of the trilateral meeting between Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Emmanuel Macron in Paris, portraying Ukraine and its president as isolated figures in international politics.

Using fakes, Russia is trying to shift the narrative surrounding the positive outcomes of the trilateral meeting between Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Emmanuel Macron in Paris, portraying Ukraine and its president as isolated figures in international politics.

This is not the first instance of Russian propaganda producing such fakes after significant diplomatic events involving Ukraine. Previously, Ukrinform debunked a fake cover from the Spanish magazine El Jueves targeting Zelensky's participation in the inauguration of Argentina's president. Similarly, Russian propaganda had earlier falsified a Charlie Hebdo cover regarding Ukraine's Peace Formula initiative.

Andriy Olenin