Falsified claims, fabricated quotes, and inaccurate reporting can destroy a journalist's credibility and, for some, even their career. But what happens when a journalist finds their name and photo on a story they never even wrote?
This is becoming an increasingly common occurrence, as part of campaigns orchestrated by pro-Russian disinformation actors — some of which fit into the Storm-1516 operation, a Russian propagandist group that spreads false narratives about Ukraine and the West online.
As part of this strategy, the work of legitimate news outlets — from Euronews to the BBC and ABC News — is impersonated, while journalists' bylines are also stolen.
One journalist who found himself at the heart of such a campaign is Romain Fiaschetti, an entertainment reporter from the south of France.
In June, he received an unexpected Facebook request — which he presumed was spam — from a Paris-based gynaecologist.
"Did you publish this article?" she asked, attaching a link to an article and video published on 25 June, which alleged that Orano — a French nuclear waste company — was secretly bribing Armenian officials to take on France's waste.
"I saw my name and my headshot on the story's byline, except I never wrote it", Fiaschetti, a reporter for French entertainment outlet Public, told Euronews'...
From misinformation surrounding the tragic Tejas fighter jet crash at the Dubai Airshow, which claimed the life of the pilot, to a manipulated video falsely showing Indian Army Chief General Upend...