New Caledonia news, russian news, russian fake

The human rights organization Human Rights Watch, referred to by russian "sources", did not make such statements. The video showing the Human Rights Watch logo has been faked. Reports of mass rapes in New Caledonia began to spread through anonymous pro-russian Telegram channels. Journalists of Spravdi.ua report

"A terrible story from the "civilized" world. The French contingent in Caledonia is acting arbitrarily. 23 cases of rape were recorded, half of the victims were younger than 16 years old. Human rights defenders said that the French detain local residents without any explanation, break into houses, posing as humanitarian missions," the posts say. In particular, on the page of the famous russian propagandist, director of the Institute of Political Studies Serhii Markov.
In confirmation, propagandists publish a two-minute video clip with the logo of a well-known human rights organization. And such russian mass media as EADaily did not provide any link to their source at all. In fact, this is a real fake.
Let's start with the fact that Human Rights Watch did not make a statement about the 23 women who were raped in New Caledonia. Moreover, their website and social media pages do not contain any information about events in New Caledonia.
Reports of mass rape by the French military in New Caledonia are also absent from the world media, despite the fact that the topic is in the focus of their attention.
The video circulating on social media is fake. First, he is not on any of Human Rights Watch's official social media pages. Second, the real Human Rights Watch videos are much shorter - about 30 seconds - while the fake video is almost 2 minutes long. Third, the video circulating online has an aspect ratio of 16:9, while all of the actual Human Rights Watch videos are 9:16. Photo and video materials from open sources were used to create the video.
It should be noted that other human rights organizations also did not record facts of sexual violence against New Caledonian women. Obviously, the goal of the kremlin in this case was to discredit the French military and the government, which are increasingly helping Ukraine fight against russian terror.
For reference: In May 2024, protests broke out on the islands of New Caledonia due to local residents' disagreement with the electoral reform. As a result of riots, looting and arson, 7 people died, including two gendarmes, and hundreds more were injured. Since 1946, New Caledonia has had the status of an overseas territory of France.
russia never stops in its desire to harm those who did not support it in one or another issue. Unfortunately, today russian propaganda and fakes have gone far beyond the russian-Ukrainian conflict. Be vigilant, check information from different sources.