The Cube: Fake news hits the United Kingdom and France as elections approach

This article was originally published in English

As the UK prepares for Thursday’s general election and French voters go to the polls for a second round of snap parliamentary elections three days later, social media is awash with false claims aimed at discrediting figures from across the political spectrum.

This post on X claims that former UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman used £25,000 (around €29,500) in fees to pay her parents’ electricity bills instead of her own.

This report is based on investigation conducted last year by the British tabloid The Daily Mirror.

It emerged that the Conservative leader claimed almost £25,000 in cleaning costs over five years for her London home, while she did not have to pay rent at her parents’ house.

The practice is in line with MPs’ expenses rules, but Ms Braverman was accused of abusing the system at the time.

But the Mirror report does not mention that Suella Braverman used her parliamentary envelope to pay her parents’ bills.

Another example: in a post relayed on social networks, a edited image shows Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer sitting next to sex predator Jimmy Savile.

The image is starting to date, but it is making the rounds on the web again as the election approaches.

Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, had published the photo without editing on X in December 2022.

It shows Starmer sitting next to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, not Savile, whose face was added to Brown’s body.

In France, publications suggest that President Emmanuel Macron has called the legislative elections so he can run for a third time.

They say he could resign and run again if the vote does not go his way, because his second term would be incomplete.

This is false: the French constitution clearly states that the president is elected for five years and cannot serve more than two consecutive terms.

Finally, there is this post who claims that Manuel Bompard, a member of parliament for La France Insoumise, wears a red triangular pin in support of Hamas.

But that’s not true either: LFI specifies on its “multimedia news platform“ that this badge is an anti-fascist symbol. It recalls the red triangles that political prisoners were forced to wear by the Nazis when they were held in concentration camps.

Reshaping the European political landscape

The results of the French and British elections, which are two important countries in Europe, are expected to have enormous repercussions on European politics as a whole.

The extreme right triumphed in the first round French elections last Sunday and seems ready to continue its progress in the second round.

The left-wing alliance also performed well and is expected to hold its own, while support for Mr Macron’s coalition has eroded.

In any case, a divided or minority government could pose a serious risk to the EU stability.

The UK, for its part, is expected to switch left after 14 years of Conservative governments, with polls showing Labour leading by up to 20 points over its rivals.

Such a result would mean a significant majority of seats for Mr Starmer – even more than the 80-seat majority won by former prime minister Boris Johnson in the last general election in 2019.

If he becomes prime minister, Keir Starmer has promised to seek a new security pact between the UK and the EU and improve the Brexit deal, while repeatedly saying there would be no return to the customs union or the single market.

Whichever way you vote, make sure you don’t get fooled by dubious claims online.