Propagandists are spreading the claim on social media that the French government and President Emmanuel Macron are deliberately persecuting Le Pen and that her chances for a fair trial are limited due to reports of new details in the case against her. At the same time, analogies are being spread with trials against other opposition figures around the world, which reinforces the impression of a supposedly global trend of persecuting opponents. However, this is not true.

In reality, the investigation against Le Pen is related to possible abuses of EU funds allocated to pay assistants to MEPs. If investigators confirm violations, Le Pen and her colleagues could face restrictions on their political activities. However, this does not mean automatic intervention by the Macron government — the French legal system is independent, and such accusations against politicians require careful and objective examination to confirm or refute the allegations on the basis of facts, not political sympathies.

The main purpose of spreading this disinformation is to discredit both the French government and the judiciary, while creating the impression that Western democracies are not as free as they claim to be and persecute the opposition for political reasons. Such narratives have the potential to weaken citizens’ trust in democratic institutions, paint Europe in a negative light, and encourage the view that no government in the world is fully transparent and objective. The propaganda also attempts to mobilize Le Pen’s right-wing supporters by highlighting injustices that could inflame political sentiments in society and deepen divisions between political camps.

On Telegram, Russian propagandists are spreading that the Banknote and Mint of the National Bank of Ukraine in Kyiv was allegedly damaged as a result of a Russian drone strike on November 12, 2024. They provided precise coordinates that match Google Maps data, which was supposed to add credibility to these claims. However, this information is not true.

StopFake reports this. The project's experts found out that the images used were indeed taken from old news: most of these photos are related to the June 3 fire at a warehouse in the Desnianskyi district of Kyiv on Zakrevskyi Street, and not to the attack on the NBU facility. Official sources also do not confirm this information: as of November 12, none of the messages from the Kyiv City Military Administration (KMV), Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klychko or the State Emergency Service of Ukraine contained information about damage to the Banknote and Mint. In addition, this facility is located on another street, which once again refutes the claims of its defeat. Another image that they are trying to link to the attack was actually taken on April 28, 2022, during the shelling of the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv.

This disinformation is yet another attempt by pro-Kremlin media to sow panic and create the impression that Ukraine’s financial infrastructure is under constant threat.

Russian propagandists are spreading information on social networks that Ukrainian children are allegedly beaten in Polish schools for speaking Ukrainian. As proof, they show screenshots of falsified Google reviews. However, in reality, these “reviews” are falsified, and in the original texts they complained about completely different things, in particular, repairs or the quality of teaching.

VoxCheck writes about this. Its experts found out that although some cases of aggression towards Ukrainian students in Poland were recorded, Polish human rights activists point out that these are more isolated incidents than systematic discrimination. Previously, Russian propaganda tried to spread hostility between Ukrainians and Poles, claiming that Poles bribe schools so that their children do not study with Ukrainians, or that during the flood, Ukrainian refugees are placed in hotels, and Poles in camps.

The aim of spreading this disinformation is to incite hostility between Ukrainians and Poles, as well as to undermine trust between allies in Europe. Russian propaganda attempts to sow distrust towards Poland as a country that provides shelter to Ukrainian refugees, creating an image of Poland as a “hostile” environment for Ukrainians. This tactic is aimed at reducing support for Ukraine in Polish society and devaluing the partnership between Ukraine and the West.

On behalf of the American organization Freedom House, propagandists are sending out letters calling on Ukrainian military personnel to leave the service. However, these are false letters. This is what the Center for Counteracting Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council writes.

Its experts found that the propagandists created a fake email address and used the Freedom House logo to make the messages look official and credible. Such tactics are often used to spread disinformation to lower military morale and undermine trust in Ukraine's Western partners.

Freedom House is not involved in these letters, and no employee of the organization sent such messages. The text of the letter contains lexical errors, specific Russianisms and other linguistic features that indicate forgery. This is another case of using fake letters as a tool of information warfare aimed at increasing mistrust among the Ukrainian military and discrediting support from Western countries.

Russian and Belarusian propaganda resources are disseminating information in a coordinated manner on social networks, trying to present the Ukrainian Armed Forces as using the “human shield” tactics in the Kursk region. These accusations are based on the statements of an unnamed Russian soldier without any confirmation. This means that it is not true. This is what the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security writes.

The “human shield” message is typical of the Russian army, which has repeatedly used civilians in the occupied territories as cover since 2014. For example, in December 2023, the Ukrainian prosecutor's office opened a criminal case on the use of Ukrainian prisoners as a “human shield” in the Zaporizhzhia region. This is another attempt by Russian propaganda to shift the blame for its crimes to the Ukrainian side.

The purpose of disseminating disinformation about the alleged use of civilians in the Kursk region by the Ukrainian military as a “human shield” is to discredit the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the international arena and to increase hostility towards Ukraine among the Russian population and its presence in Ukraine to shift attention to the numerous war crimes committed by Russian troops, accusing the Ukrainian side of such crimes.