Russian commentator Xenia Fedorova has been ordered to leave France, the country’s Interior Ministry said Wednesday. She has been accused of disseminating Kremlin propaganda on French television and radio.
According to French newspaper Liberation, the expulsion order accuses Fedorova of acting “as a conduit for disinformation campaigns orchestrated by the Russian authorities” with the aim of “destabilising public order” in France.
According to the AFP news agency, Fedorova has been placed under house arrest since the order was issued.
Fedorova is the former chief of the Russia Today (RT) in France, which was ultimately banned in the country after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
She stayed in the country and became a commentator for broadcasting outlets owned by French billionaire Vincent Bollore’s media conglomerate.
According to French daily Le Monde, Fedorova has been known to be a “protege” of Bollore.
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Experts on disinformation had previously raised the alarm about the influence of figures like Fedorova in France, ahead of a presidential election next year.
Although there is no evidence of any links between Fedorova and the Kremlin, media advocates have said she should still be regarded as an agent of influence.
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She stayed in the country and became a commentator for broadcasting outlets owned by French billionaire Vincent Bollore’s media conglomerate.
According to French daily Le Monde, Fedorova has been known to be a “protege” of Bollore.
And as always when we’re talking about propaganda in support of authoritarianism, the Epstein class is involved. Maybe there’s a pattern here.
Completely unrelated remark: Monsieur Bollore looks extremely tasty.
It’s unhealthy, you should compost your billionaires, not eat them just like you would do with rotten veggies or shit
Bollore Logistics has a practical monopoly in West African ports and is also involved in a lot of oil and gas stuff. Combined with the French media holdings, this just stinks neocoloniaism.
Although there is no evidence of any links between Fedorova and the Kremlin, media advocates have said she should still be regarded as an agent of influence.
It makes sense but it doesn’t look like there has been a trial.
She has been accused of disseminating Kremlin propaganda on French television and radio.
Like the filtering of webpages, information can be silenced by the executive branch alone.
Downvoters, don’t you expect that the power will be abused? There is no difference for the law between silencing her and silencing everybody who asks for a wealth tax on Lemmy.
Every power can be abused.
But let’s not let philosophy stand in the way of preventing harm to society. Which is what Russian propaganda is doing.
It’s not philosophy but reason. If the state can silence critics without proof then everybody loses.
She has been accused of disseminating Kremlin propaganda on French television and radio.
They should at least name the worst disinformation so that it is possible for the population to verify if the state works in good faith.
Within the war there are several things where the media had to track back. If she pointed those out early on then it looked like propaganda but it would have served the truth and the people.
The danger from Russia is not bigger than the threat from our own elite. The dishonesty about age verification, US data security and similar things shows that our own elite wants to lock us in. The extreme right and Russia are just the scapegoat to make it happen.
