Russian propaganda started to boost the narrative The West doesn’t need Ukraine in a backdrop of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. For instance, they’re saying that “it’s not the time” to talk about Ukraine. Spreading this message, a photo from the demonstration in Paris showing a sign calling to stop supporting Ukraine, was shared online. Let’s discuss what happened and what was really on that sign. 

What happened? 

On October 24-25, Telegram channels of Russian propagandists published a post with a photo. It depicted a Paris demonstration for solidarity with Palestine, with one of the participants holding a sign, “Stop supporting Ukraine. Support Palestine.” 

This news was shared on pro-Russian channels like “Medved,” “Otriad Kovpaka,” and “Sheih Tamir.” 

Analysis

We found an original photo. Benjamin Girette took it for a French media outlet, Le Monde. 

In their text, Le Monde covered the peaceful demonstration for France’s solidarity with Palestine on October 22, 2023, in Paris. There was no talk about Ukraine there. In the original photo, the poster doesn’t say anything about Ukraine, either: it had a sign, “Paris stand for Palestine.” 

Paris, France le 22 octobre 2023: Manifestation en soutien à la population palestinienne place de la République à Paris. / Photographer : Benjamin Girette, Source: Le Monde

So, we have another Russian fake that attempts to show that Ukraine won’t be supported by the West anymore because of its focus on the Israeli-Hamas conflict.  

Conclusion: Fake 

Author: Viktoria Horak

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