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Texas: a political and migratory crisis fueled by fake news
In the United States, the rag is burning between Texas and Washington. In the midst of a migration and political crisis, the state led by Republican Governor Greg Abbott decided to take care of its border alone, thus blocking access to federal agents. This standoff between the Texan authorities and the federal state is fueled by false information on social networks and exploited by Russian propaganda.
Several videos taken out of context fuel the narrative of an imminent clash between Texas and Washington. © Screenshots/RFI montage
By: Sophie Malibeaux | Grégory Genevrier Follow
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Faced with an unprecedented influx of migrants, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is defying Washington. The Republican governor invoked a “
foreign invasion clause
” to take control of the border, which is normally the responsibility of the government. This operation deprives federal agents of access to the border with Mexico. At the political level,
Joe Biden is in an impasse
. Against the backdrop of the electoral campaign, Republicans close to Donald Trump are opposed to any political compromise authorizing him to take control of the border with Mexico. A way for conservatives to make immigration, candidate Donald Trump's favorite theme, the central subject of the election.
Faced with this situation, alarmist messages have multiplied in recent days on social networks, under the hashtag
#TexasCivilWar
. Internet users claim that Texas is “
seceding
and preparing for armed confrontation
” and that a “
civil war is coming to the United States
”. Some even suggest, with hijacked video to support it, that Texas has moved its battle tanks to the border with Mexico.
Please note, this video has been taken out of context.
FORGET RAZOR WIRE - TEXAS DEPLOYS TANKS
The Texas Army National Guard is moving M1A1 Abrams battle tanks and M2A2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles to its border with Mexico.
As states begin to send their troops to assist in securing the border, this looks like a battle Biden… https://t.co/1JXWCpHEkA pic.twitter.com/DOg4VEYbFx
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 28, 2024
Checked, this video is taken out of context. It shows a convoy of several armored vehicles from the Kansas National Guard heading to Texas for training missions. This equipment is intended to be subsequently deployed in the Middle East and not at the border with Mexico, as several Internet users claim. Kansas is not on the list of states supporting the Texas governor.
Photographs of the loading of the armored vehicles were published by the Kansas National Guard on January 26: https://t.co/wwa3iGPmDL
On the other hand, Kansas is not one of the states supporting Texas in its disagreement with the Federal state: https://t.co/q9pfAYUtzN
2/3
— Fact'Ory (@FactsOrigins) January 28, 2024
A military exercise in Chile, not Texas
Other videos purporting to illustrate the deployment of tanks in Texas are circulating on social networks. This is the case of this 44-second extract, showing several armored vehicles crossing a road in the middle of the desert. “
In Texas, the tanks are rolling against illegal immigrants and Joe Biden
,” says the account that shares it.
Please note, this video has nothing to do with Texas.
🇺🇸No Texas, our tanks are in favor of illegal immigrants and Joe Biden 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/v2SNqhnLiB
— Verdade aparecerá (@VNatista86180) January 29, 2024
In reality, several visual elements, analyzed by
RFI's Info Verif unit,
attest that this video has nothing to do with Texas. The license plate, visible on the red pickup in the foreground, matches Chilean plates, not Texas.
The site worldlicenseplates.com allows you to search for license plates by country. © Screenshot/ RFI montage
The green police car parked horizontally on the side of the road is a model belonging to the Carabinieri of Chile.
A Google image search with the keywords in Spanish “Carabineros” and “coche” allows you to find the exact model of the police vehicle visible in the images. © Screenshot/ RFI montage
In addition, the tanks crossing the road are Leopards 2 tanks. A model which appears in the military arsenal of Chile and not that of the American army. A keyword search finally allows you to find this same video published by Chilean Internet users between November 7 and 9, 2023.
This video appears online from November 2023. © Screenshot/ RFI Montage
This timing corresponds to the military maneuvers which took place in Chile between November 6 and 10, 2023 as part of the “
Tormenta 2023
” exercise.
Chilean army post.
So far, there has been no report of the deployment of tanks on the border with Mexico, nor of any clashes between Texan forces and federal agents.
Russian propaganda is riding the crisis
Very attentive to the evolution of the situation in the United States, Russian propaganda quickly seized on this crisis. Several influential relays, close to the Kremlin, openly encourage the circulation of a separatist narrative. Russian MP Sergei Mikhailovich Mironov tweeted: “
In the case of Texas against the United States, I am on the side of the State. At least Texas doesn't interfere in other countries' affairs. If necessary, we are ready to contribute to the independence referendum. And of course we will recognize the People's Republic of Texas, if there is one. Good luck !
".
The spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, joked about the situation in a message on her Telegram channel. “
It is time for the American president, in the best tradition of his predecessor Obama, to declare that “Texas must go” and to bring together an international coalition to free its residents in the name of democracy.
» Contacted by the American magazine
Newsweek
, a spokesperson for the US State Department reacted, declaring that “
the Kremlin is attempting in the most obvious way to concoct a false narrative that will sow division in our country. We hope people will see this story for what it is, which is typical Kremlin nonsense
.”
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