Russia Plays Dirty at the World Cup, uses misinformation to further interests
With all eyes on FIFA World Cup, a pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign spread a fabricated claim that French star Kylian Mbappé accused President Macron of years of sexual harassment. The false story spread via a fake Eurosport website and AI-generated audio, garnering 14 million views on X in six days.
NewsGuard
As the World Cup kicked off this week in North America, a pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign is asserting that French soccer star Kylian Mbappé has publicly accused French President Emmanuel Macron of years of sexual harassment, in an apparent effort to discredit a staunch Ukraine ally.
Context: More than five million people are expected to attend World Cup matches in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and billions are expected to watch the broadcasts. Russia won’t be competing, as it was banned from the competition over its invasion of Ukraine.
A closer look: Days before the French national team headed for the tournament on June 10, pro-Kremlin X users shared a French-language video and article, which bore the logo of sports broadcaster Eurosport, claiming that Mbappé, the French team’s captain, accused Macron of sexually harassing him for years.
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