Three years after the ban of Russia Today France, its director, Xenia Fedorova, is making her big return to French media. Now a columnist on the show L’Heure Inter on CNews, she has also published a book where she claims to denounce “disinformation” in France and advocates for freedom of thought and information.
Recruited by Vincent Bolloré, Xenia Fedorova joins a media empire that provides a platform for conspiracy theories, ultraconservative rhetoric, and pro-Russian discourse. In her media appearances and writings, Xenia Fedorova denies Russia’s responsibility in the invasion of Ukraine, attacks the French press, and criticizes the closure of RT France, which was banned in 2022 by the European Commission due to its active role in Moscow’s information war.
Russia is not content with placing its spokespeople on influential channels. It is expanding its influence and interference operations across Europe, notably through pro-Russian influencers, like in Romania during the presidential elections, or through a massive disinformation network like the Pravda network.
Xenia Fedorova, born in Russia, has never hidden her alignment with the Kremlin’s rhetoric. According to internal sources at RT, she wanted the channel to talk about the “special operation to denazify” Ukraine, word for word repeating Vladimir Putin’s justification for the conflict.
The spokesperson for Moscow has no place on French television. Giving a platform to a puppet of the Kremlin is legitimizing Russian disinformation, allowing for manipulation of public opinion, and weakening our democracies.
Source : Le Monde, France TV info
