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What’s happening: Pro-Kremlin propagandists are fabricating phony news reports mimicking reliable news sources to falsely claim that hantavirus is spreading at an “alarming rate” in France and overwhelming its health system. The campaign appears to be an effort to discredit French President Emmanuel Macron, one of Ukraine’s key allies in its war with Russia, and raise alarms about a deadly virus that, in fact, appears to be in check.
Context: As of May 20, 2026, a hantavirus outbreak on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius had sickened 11 people, including three who died, according to the World Health Organization. Officials have not determined how the outbreak on the ship began. Hantavirus is a severe and potentially deadly virus that can cause disease affecting the lungs, heart, and kidneys.
A closer look: NewsGuard identified 10 bogus reports about the spread of the virus in France — four videos and six articles — published on anonymous X accounts on May 13 and 14, 2026. The campaign, which bears the hallmarks of Matryoshka, a Russian influence campaign named after Russian nesting dolls, includes reports that appear to...
exporters knowingly avoided U. S. duties on Asian and European flat-rolled steel products, agreeing to pay $19 million to resolve the dispute, according to a press release issued Wednesday by the U...