France is now countering disinformation with humor.image: dpa
France has had enough of troll factories and propaganda wars. The country responds with humor, punchlines and viral posts. The State Department is now running a meme profile on X, becoming itself a weapon in the information war.
January 27, 2026, 6:59 p.mJanuary 27, 2026, 6:59 p.m
Anna Von Stefenelli / watson.de
While Donald Trump rails against the EU and Russian trolls infiltrate Western democracies, France’s Foreign Ministry has decided: No more composure. Instead of quiet distance, there are now pointed counterattacks. On Platform X, where right-wing propaganda is particularly well represented, France reacts to disinformation from Washington and Moscow.
The language is often humor and satire paired with facts. The tone is new, the sender is well known: the French Foreign Office, the “Quai d’Orsay”. There is also a new, appropriate name for the mouthpiece: “French Response”.
The official X channel is fast, snappy and has now become a viral player in its own right with over 140,000 followers. The goal: to no longer remain silent in the propaganda war, but to strike back with style.
Between Meme and Marianne: Answer to Russia and the USA
“We raise our voices, we turn up the volume,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot loudly “Tages-Anzeiger”. The change is necessary in response to the “surge” of misinformation from Russia and the USA. It’s about creating visibility in a global fight for sovereignty of interpretation.
The new tactic: a satirical social media profile with the look of common meme accounts, but with official verification. The account’s logo shows the French national figure Marianne against a blue background. There you will find English-language posts that are ironic and often visually strong.
This is what the account looks like in the fight against disinformation.image: screenshot x.com
France on X: Hit against Trump and Putin narratives
When Elon Musk recently described the French and British governments as “fascist” because of their regulation of social media platforms, “French Response” responded with an old photo.
It shows Musk with his right arm outstretched, taken at Trump’s inauguration. An allusion that fits: The debate broke out again in the comments as to whether this was meant as a Hitler salute.
The French Foreign Ministry let the punchline speak for itself.
Even more successful: a post that countered Trump’s narrative about “Europe’s cultural decline”. Instead of long speeches, a simple infographic comparison between the EU and the USA was enough. It shows life expectancy, poverty rates, student loan debt, murder rates. Europe performed better across the board.
The post went viral, reaching over 3.5 million views, 38,000 likes and over 1,000 comments (as of Tuesday afternoon).
When former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recently mocked French President Emmanuel Macron as “Micron,” the Foreign Ministry responded with only one emoji: a yawning face. No text necessary.
France’s X-Account: Weapon in Hybrid Warfare
The strategy behind the account is a calculated counterattack and part of hybrid warfare in the information space. Because Putin’s troll factories, Trump’s platform rhetoric and right-wing conspiracy theorists reach X million views and flood the Internet with disinformation.
France now also wants to generate attention, but with intelligence and attitude. Again “Tages-Anzeiger”» reports, the idea came directly from Foreign Minister Barrot. The diplomatic break in style is not only permitted, but strategic: a new form of international communication, adapted to online logic.
Not everyone is enthusiastic. France’s right-wing politicians in particular criticize the new mouthpiece. Florian Philippot, former deputy of the right-wing extremist Front National, called “French Response” “pathetic” and “shameful”. However, the criticism is likely to be less about the style than about the content: especially when it comes to Trump or Putin.
But the new French X channel does not share disinformation. In complete contrast to those of the Russia bots or even the White House, Trump and Musk, who in most cases do not stand up to fact checks.