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A video showing French President Emmanuel Macron's wife shoving him in the face has gone viral. Macron says that the two are just sharing a moment of closeness. As NPR's Jaclyn Diaz reports, this moment has taken on a life of its own in pro-Russian media.
JACLYN DIAZ, BYLINE: The video is just a few seconds long. French President Emmanuel Macron is standing in the open doorway of a plane after touching down in Vietnam. He's standing in profile, talking, when suddenly a pair of red-sleeved arms reach out and push him in the face. Moments later, he puts a smile on his face and waves at the camera. French first lady Brigitte Macron, wearing a red jacket, appears as they leave the plane. Macron's office says it was just the married couple sharing a silly moment. So why has it gained so much attention?
DARREN LINVILL: If any video like that came out for anyone in his position, it would go viral in today's digital environment.
DIAZ: That was Darren Linvill, a Clemson University professor specializing in social media disinformation. Linvill says he's seen the video take hold in corners of Russian media and pro-Russian propaganda on social media. Disinformation experts like Linvill say pro-Russian actors are using the video to suggest that Macron is weak and emasculated.
LINVILL: Bad actors, especially the Russians, take advantage of real videos like this all of the time to spin the message and the story that they want to tell.
DIAZ: This is not the first time Macron has been targeted on social media. When Macron met German and British leaders earlier this month on a train to Ukraine, some conspiracy theorists said photos of the meeting showed a bag of cocaine on the table. Macron's office said it was a tissue, and Macron's office said the conspiracy theories were fake news spread by France's enemies. Linvill says Macron is a prime target for misinformation.
LINVILL: He is the leader of the Western world, the leader - the most prominent advocate and voice in NATO, and that makes him target No. 1 for Russia.
DIAZ: Nina Khrushcheva, a professor of international affairs at The New School, says that to Russians, the video is presented to make Macron look weak compared to Putin. Macron has wanted the West to amp up pressure on Putin over the war in Ukraine.
NINA KHRUSHCHEVA: Because Macron is so big on being tough on Russia, and they're showing him like, oh, he's tough on Russia. Look at this. He's not even tough on his wife.
DIAZ: She said there's an opportunity for pro-Russian voices to present it as a contrast to the strongman image of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The goal is to undermine the legitimacy of Macron and the West, according to Linvill.
LINVILL: Russia and China and other countries that stand in opposition to the West and to NATO are looking to chip away at what remains of those traditions and those standards.
DIAZ: And Linvill says these attacks on social media against leaders like Macron who are trying to uphold democracy in Europe will likely continue.
Jaclyn Diaz, NPR News.
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