The underside of the infox, the chronicle

Russian disinformation around the death of journalist Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff

Audio 03:54

Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff in the exercise of his profession as an image reporter.

© Reuters/ RFI video screenshot

By: Sophie Malibeaux |

Gregory Genevrier Follow

5 mins

A new name was added this week to the list of journalists who died on the ground in Ukraine.

Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff died on Monday May 30, while covering a civilian evacuation operation for the French television channel 

in the Donbass.

The humanitarian vehicle in which he was traveling was hit by shrapnel.

The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office has opened a "war crime" investigation.

On the Russian side, we misinform by attacking the victim.

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The treatment of

by the official

news agency is a perfect example of the Russian disinformation strategy, betting on the "disorientation" of the public.

Half an hour after having reported factually the

the Russian agency begins to circulate the information according to which it could be a question, not of a journalist, but of a " 

 ”.

In its May 30 dispatch, the state agency went so far as to write that he was " 

 ", and accused him in a thinly veiled way of having tried to deliver ammunition to Ukrainian soldiers. 

Screenshot of dispatches from the Russian news agency Tass on the death of French journalist Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff.

© Screenshot Tass/ RFI

A journalist recognized by the profession

However, there can be no doubt about the activity of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff and his way of exercising his profession as a journalist and image reporter (JRI).

He was a graduate of the

, and was indeed a journalist recognized by the profession.

Since 2015, he had been in possession of the identity card for professional journalists, more simply called a press card.

His work with multiple media is still accessible online. 

When he died, he was filming in the Donbass, teaming up with other journalists, including a Ukrainian, Oksana Leuta.

on how they set up this mission which led them to board a vehicle marked " 

 ", which we can see very well on the pictures released since.

Photo of the truck marked "humanitarian aid" which was transporting Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff when he was fatally hit by shrapnel.

© Photo from the Telegram channel of the governor of the Lugansk region, Sergiï Gaïdaï.

There is absolutely no hard evidence that this reporter was involved in anything other than news coverage.

These are gratuitous and fallacious accusations. 

The separatists at the source of the infox

news agency

relies on

, a member of the armed forces of the Luhansk People's Republic, pro-Russian separatists.

It is he who describes the French journalist as a " 

 " and affirms that he " 

 ".

On his Twitter account, Andrey Marochko describes himself as a "military expert, public figure, reserve lieutenant-colonel of the LPR popular militia."

© Screenshot Twitter/ RFI

The same Andrey Marochko relays on his Telegram account, conspiracy theories from the pro-Russian media

, according to which the death of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff would be a stunt by the Ukrainian forces in order to discredit the Russian army. 

The other argument put forward by the

agency to sow doubt is that Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff was

at the time of the events.

Which is true, but proves absolutely nothing, since all the journalists present in Ukraine must be accredited, either by the Ukrainian armed forces on the Ukrainian side, or by the Russian armed forces on the other side of the front.

Which is common practice in most battlefields, especially for journalists planning to approach the front lines.

Manipulation by Russians for Russians 

This infox is not relayed on the French side, where there is no doubt about what this journalist was doing in Ukraine.

Conversely, it has been taken up by many Russian media and is intended more for Russian speakers and in particular for the inhabitants of Donbass.

The objective is to pass the death of the journalist, not for a war crime, but for a manipulation aimed " 

 ", according to Andrey Marochko. 

Disorientation strategy

For Maxime Audinet, doctor of political science and Slavic studies from the University of Paris Nanterre and researcher at Irsem, specialist in Russian influence, the Kremlin's strategy, illustrated by dispatches from

, consists in disorienting the public by diluting some factual truth with misleading content.

The ignominious disinformation process used by the TASS agency to cover up the death of French journalist Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff has a name: disorientation.

A practice often mobilized by the national or international Russian state media.

A 🧶.

1/10

– Maxime Audinet (@maximeaudinet) May 31, 2022

The official reaction of the Russian authorities, Wednesday June 1, in the mouth of the spokesman of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, does not make it possible to dissipate this informational fog: " 

he declares to the press

." 

Words that are not likely to put an end to the disinformation relayed by the state media on the person of the French journalist killed in the exercise of his profession.

The Kremlin allows the most ignominious accusations to circulate.

For once, in its practice of disinformation, Russia is not in denial about the bombardment.

His line of defense is first to attack the reputation of the victim. 

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