The BBC Tweet About Macron’s Statement Related to Sanctions on Moscow Is Fabricated

19th April 2022

The BBC Tweet About Macron’s Statement Related to Sanctions on Moscow Is Fabricated

The image is digitally altered (Twitter).

The Claim

The screenshot shows a BBC News tweet quoting President Macron saying that “sanctions against Russia will lead to 60 million refugees in Europe.”

News posted on

Hawkeye1745

Cornelis Kees Cramer

Manchester Chronicle 🐝

Emerging story

An image that appears to be a screenshot of a BBC News tweet posted on April 11, 2022, has gone viral on social media. The alleged tweet’s caption reads: “France’s President Macron tells re-election audience, ‘Europe needs to be prepared to take up to 60 million refugees, over the next 20 years, from Africa and the Middle East,’ as he warns that sanctions on Russia are leading to economic collapse in Africa, which imports vast amounts of Russian wheat.”

🇫🇷 French Jesuit President Macron campaign promise in clear words:
"Europe is happy to get up to 60 million refugees over the next 20 years from Africa and the Middle East, therefor EU announced sanctions against Russia." pic.twitter.com/BahoyYbq5j
— Hawkeye1745 (@Hawkeye1745) April 17, 2022

#Macron: “Europe needs to be prepared to take up to 60 million refugees, over the next 20 years, from Africa and the Middle East.” Warns that sanctions on #Russia 🇷🇺 leading to economic collapse in Africa. #BorisJohnson #EU #PritiPatel #wheat #foodcrisis #Ukraine #Biden #Rwanda pic.twitter.com/05HXj1r8XQ
— Manchester Chronicle 🐝 (@WithyGrove) April 18, 2022

Misbar’s Analysis

Misbar has investigated the claim and found it to be fake . Our team has not found any evidence that the British Broadcasting Corporation BBC has posted such a tweet, nor has their website mentioned a similar statement made by President Emmanuel Macron.

The BBC News Did Not Tweet About the Alleged Macron Statement

Using keywords on Google Search, our team has not found any reliable source reporting on the alleged statement by Emmanuel Macron.

Shayan Sardarizadeh, who is a journalist reporting on disinformation for BBC Monitoring and BBC world, has confirmed, in a tweet, that the screenshot quoting President Macron as saying sanctions against Russia will lead to 60 million refugees in Europe is fake. Sardarizadeh added that Macron did not make any similar announcements.

It's day 53 of war in Ukraine.

A fake BBC News tweet falesly quoting President Macron as saying sanctions against Russia will lead to 60 million refugees in Europe is being shared. Mr Macron has not said such a thing and BBC News never tweeted that.

Spotted by @RespectIsVital pic.twitter.com/AliRnv9LMc
— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) April 17, 2022

Emmanuel Macron Supports Sanctions Imposed on Russia

The French President has already expressed his support for sanctions imposed on Russia since the war on Ukraine began. He recently said that a “new round of sanctions targetting Russia was needed.” He added that there were clear indications that Russian forces were responsible for the killings of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

Macron has also tweeted on April 8, 2022, noting that Europe imposed new sanctions on Russia.

The victims in Kramatorsk, Bucha, Mariupol and Kharkiv are in our thoughts. Throughout Ukraine, we will support investigations to ensure justice is done. Our thoughts go out to the families who continue to flee. We will welcome them to our Union, our Union of peace.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) April 8, 2022

No reliable sources have featured the alleged quote by Emmanuel Macron. The verification sign’s size on the viral image also confirms that the image is digitally fabricated. Based on our investigation, Misbar’s team finds that the tweet is fake and was not posted by BBC News. Moreover, there is no evidence that Emmanuel Macron made such a statement.