4 hours ago
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Tissue of lies.
A bizarre conspiracy that European leaders snorted cocaine en route to critical Ukraine talks has been roundly ridiculed by the French presidency, after it was promoted by Russian trolls as well as American conspiracists such as Alex Jones.
“This fake news is being spread by France’s enemies, both abroad and at home. We must remain vigilant against manipulation,” the Elysee Palace posted on X.
The conspiracy — thought to have started on the social networking app Telegram which is popular in Russia — used edited footage of French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and newly-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
In the clip, the trio enter a train carriage taking them to Kyiv for crucial talks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
President Macron is seen hurriedly removing a crumpled tissue off the table, which conspiracy theorists claimed was a bag of cocaine, while Chancellor Merz was alleged to be handling a white spoon for cocaine as cameramen film the three world leaders.
English (US)