March 2024.
As part of the program Regional Initiative for combating disinformation “Western Balkans Combatting disinformation Center: Exposing malicious influences through fact-checking and Analytical Journalism“, we present you a new analysis of fake news and disinformation narratives.
Shocking! France is entering the war: The army is deployed on the border of Romania and Ukraine
https://informer.rs/planeta/vesti/885462/francuska-rusija-rat
Since the summit of European leaders was held in Paris regarding the continuation of military aid to Ukraine, where French President Emmanuel Macron stated that they discussed sending NATO troops to Ukraine, pro-Russian media have not stopped spreading disinformation and fear among citizens.
This is evidenced by the news on the Informer portal that the French army has sent army regiments to Romania in preparation for the deployment of French troops in Ukraine and action against the Russian army in Odesa. It is said that a unit of the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment Nîmes, a regiment of the French Foreign Legion, was sent to the border of Ukraine. The Informer reported this news from the French portal France News 24. Interestingly, this kind of news does not exist on the portal France News 24, especially not in the form of a headline – “France is entering the war”.
It is clear that the media use such headlines to cause fear and anxiety among readers. French President Emmanuel Macron said that the security of Europe is at stake when it comes to the war in Ukraine, which gave rise to the interpretation of the French official’s statement to all pro-Russian media. He also said that France must not allow Russia to win, but he also stated that France would not take the initiative in this war.
The Informer reports that the conflict could soon take on an international dimension with the entry of the French army into the war, which is a very problematic prediction, considering that until now, there was only talk about sending military aid to Ukraine, but not the army. However, taking into account all the fake news on this topic, there is no doubt that the news about the entry of France, as well as other countries such as the USA and Germany, into the Russo-Ukrainian war will continue.
Threats from the Kremlin were not absent this time either. Zakharova told Macron that everyone knows how foreign intervention attempts end and that he should carefully reread the history textbooks. It is now known that Russian officials love nothing more than reminiscing about events from centuries past, as we had the opportunity to hear from Putin’s interview with Tucker Carlson. Zakharova reminded of Napoleon Bonaparte’s attack on Russia in 1812 and the stay of the Russian army in Paris in 1814, thereby telling Macron that she doubted that France’s entry into the war would be successful for Paris.
The existing narrative is joined by the assertion of Russian geopolitician Leonid Savin that NATO is preparing for war with Russia. As reported by RT Balkan, “Taking into account NATO’s numerous manoeuvres and accelerated military modernization, as well as Macron’s statements about sending troops to Ukraine, which appeared as a kind of test, it seems that the US and the Alliance’s strategists are planning an ill-advised military adventure against Russia “.
RT states that the NATO exercises are taking place in arctic conditions, that they should enable the integration of the Nordic countries from NATO and strengthen the operational cooperation of the countries of Northern Europe, and that NATO soldiers were trained to protect against frostbite or rescue on ice. In addition, the military exercises put “emphasis on electronic warfare and on the resilience of command posts, which is a consequence of the effectiveness of Russian forces in Ukraine.”
As reported by RT, “All this indicates that NATO is preparing for war against Russia.” It is unclear how the usual activity of the military alliance, reflected in military exercises, indicates a possible war with Russia. NATO trains its soldiers for all weather conditions, and considering that cyber warfare has already become a new dimension of the conflict, it is understandable that NATO prepares its personnel according to the new circumstances.
This misinformation encouraged the media to use the opposite scenario as well. Thus, on the Kurir and Srbin.info portals, you can find news under the title: “Russia is preparing for a Great War with NATO in 2026!” These are the targets.” Analysis from German intelligence circles suggests that Russian President Vladimir Putin could attack parts of NATO as early as 2026 and that this may happen even sooner, given that Russia has switched to a war economy and that weapons production is in full swing. For now, there are no indications that there could be a conflict between the NATO pact and Russia. Behind its noticeable headline about a possible confrontation, the news mentioned above hides narratives about the superiority of Russian weapons and a strong Russian economy, for which they also do not present any evidence.
Author: Nataša Stanojević
