Fake Euronews report falsely says Ukraine embassy in Paris attacked
Facebook and X users shared the video online on Feb 10
(Reuters) - A Euronews-branded video that reported French farmers sprayed manure at the Ukrainian embassy in Paris in response to being criticised for protesting is fake.
Facebook and X users shared the video online on Feb 10. It mimics the style of social media video reports published by Euronews, a French broadcaster, by using the outlet’s logo and brand-fitting white text highlighted in bright blue.
According to the fabricated video report, the Ukrainian embassy in Paris issued a letter calling on French farmers to halt ongoing protests, which have been widely covered by outlets including Reuters since January.
In response, the fake Euronews video said French farmers had sprayed manure at the embassy building.
It quoted Arnaud Rousseau, head of France’s biggest farming union FNSEA, as also criticising the purported letter and saying Ukraine had “no right to demand anything from the French”.
Reuters found no evidence of Euronews ever posting such a report, nor of Ukraine’s embassy in Paris issuing a letter to French farmers nor of French farmers attacking the embassy with manure.
There is also no evidence of Rousseau publicly making any such comments about the purported letter.
A spokesperson for Euronews told Reuters via email: “We confirm that the video you mention is a fake, it has nothing to do with Euronews."
“It imitates Euronews’ journalistic style, graphics and format in a sophisticated way.” The Ukrainian embassy did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment about the letter.
An FNSEA spokesperson told Reuters in an email that Rousseau had not made the comments attributed to him in the video.
The building sprayed by a tractor in the video is also not the Ukrainian embassy in Paris. Reuters identified it as a regional council building on Boulevard de la Trémouille, Dijon.
The same footage was shared on X on Dec. 15 by a freelance journalist reporting on farmers’ protests in the French city.
VERDICT
False. Euronews did not publish the video, a spokesperson said to Reuters. Claims within the clip about the Ukrainian embassy and the head of the French farmers’ union are also false.
