Faked UAE-France Video Likely Russian, Say Analysts

A fake video reporting on rising tensions between the United Arab Emirates and France may be of Russian origin, according to an Associated Press analysis.

In what appears to be a video released by Al Jazeera, the United Arab Emirates said it halted an $18 billion French arms purchase after Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested in Paris.

However, Al Jazeera told AP that the footage was “fake and we deny this attribution to the media network”.

Russian-born Durov is a French and Emirati citizen and was released on bail after being questioned by French authorities and initially charged last month with allegedly allowing Telegram to be used for criminal activities.

Although the UAE and Russia have maintained significant economic and other ties since the war in Ukraine, the AP cited several analysts who said the Durov video was mostly disinformation coming out of Russia.

The Ukraine-based Center for Countering Disinformation told the news agency that the video was “targeted at an international audience for the purpose of informational influence.

“[It] belongs to a Russian network of subversive information operations abroad,” it said.

Russian officials have denounced Duro’s arrest as politically motivated.

But French President Emmanuel Macron denied this, insisting his country must uphold freedom of expression within the constraints of the law.

“In a state governed by the rule of law, freedoms in social media and in real life are anchored within the legal framework to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights,” he wrote in X last month.

“With full independence, it is up to the judiciary to enforce the law.”