Fake Charlie Hebdo cover shows Zelenskyy exploiting Pope Francis’ death for cash

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Fake Charlie Hebdo cover shows Zelenskyy exploiting Pope Francis’ death for cash  Pro-Russian actors routinely spread fake Charlie Hebdo editions online to discredit Ukraine and weaken the West's support for Kyiv.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/06/fake-charlie-hebdo-cover-shows-zelenskyy-exploiting-popes-death-for-cash  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00Fake Charlie Hebdo cover shows Zelensky exploiting Pope's death for cash.

00:09An alleged front cover from the French satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo is circulating online,

00:15mocking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the death of Pope Francis.

00:20In the picture we can see a caricature of Zelensky holding up the body of the late pontiff at the Vatican Bank.

00:26Zelensky, hiding behind the Bishop of Rome and animating his body like a puppet, says,

00:30It's me, Pope Francis, please transfer all of my money to Ukraine.

00:35The accounts sharing the front cover and commenting on it are critical of Zelensky,

00:39accusing him of demanding money from world governments and using Ukraine's defence against Russia's war as a pretext.

00:45But this is all false.

00:46Firstly, we can easily check whether the picture is authentic by visiting Charlie Hebdo's website.

00:51It's not anywhere to be found.

00:53It was supposedly published on 23 April 2025,

00:56but checking Charlie Hebdo's list of recent publications shows us that the real 23 April edition looks completely different.

01:03It does deal with the Pope's death, but instead mockingly says his successor will be truly close to the poor by depicting him as a rat.

01:10The rat says, what's more, he's reactionary, misogynistic and homophobic.

01:14Many of the accounts sharing the fake front cover are pro-Russian and regular disseminators of Kremlin propaganda that attempt to discredit Ukraine.

01:22Charlie Hebdo itself has previously issued a warning that pro-Russian actors are using its image to produce anti-Ukraine content.

01:29Euroverify has already debunked other instances of false Charlie Hebdo additions that disparage Zelensky.

01:35It's been widely shown that Russia is attempting to damage support for Ukraine by spreading propaganda that depicts Zelensky as a money-grabbing opportunist who's robbing taxpayers' funds.

01:45However, Western countries are providing legitimate financial and humanitarian support to Kyiv,

01:50and surveys consistently show that a strong majority of European citizens back this.

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