Russian propaganda often uses fake covers for popular media outlets, particularly covers of the satirical outlet Charlie Hebdo. This time, a fake Charlie Hebdo cover with a caricature of Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit to the reopening of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, which was being repaired after the 2019 fire, was shared online. Let’s see how it was made and distributed.
What happened?
Since December 9, pro-Russian Telegram channels (e.g., “Кот Костян – Официальный канал,” “Клубный Сервис,” “На самом деле в Харькове,” “Colonelcassad“) started sharing posts with pictures that were presented as a cover of Charlie Hebdo for December 9 issue with a caricature of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the cover and the headline, “What is opening of Notre-Dame without the hunchback?”
On the cover, French President Macron stands alongside President-elect of America Trump, with Notre Dame in the background. Zelenskyy is depicted in the distance as Quasimodo.
Then, this post was shared in pro-Russian channels and media outlets, including Politicus (Политикус), Zov Kharkiv (ZOV Харьков), and Pravda Česko, and also spread by pro-Russian accounts on X (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and pro-Russian forums and social media (1, 2, 3), etc.
Analysis
The Charlie Hebdo cover used in the post has the issue number and date of the issue’s publication: it’s supposedly issue #1690 published on December 9, 2024.
We’ve checked the Charlie Hebdo issues published on the satirical outlet’s official website in the section Editions de Charlie and on their official X account. Charlie Hebdo did release issue #1690, but two days later than indicated in these Telegram posts, on December 11.
On Monday, December 9, Charlie Hebdo didn’t release an issue because it is a weekly magazine published each Wednesday. The previous issue, #1689, was released on December 4. The release of Charlie Hebdo #1690 issue, published on December 11, has a different cover, with a caricature of Bashar Assad running away from Syria and hiding in Moscow under Putin’s protection, with a headline, “Three kings [are hidden] in Moscow.”
So, Charlie Hebdo has never released such a cover. Our fact-checking experts note that by depicting Zelenskyy as Quasimodo, pro-Russian sources are once again prompting the narrative about the West being tired of Ukraine, Ukraine being alienated there, and discrediting Zelenskyy and the results of negotiations at the three leaders’ meeting in Paris.
Conclusion: Fake
Author: Anna Ormanzhy
Subscribe to news from Kharkiv, Ukraine
Most important stories from the frontline region
