There is a cover attributed to Charlie Hebdo, where the new head of the Ukrainian army Syrsky is depicted inside a bloody crater with the remains of the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers. The cover bears the date February 14, 2024 and the edition would be numbered 1648, but the latter is not yet published. Another cover came out that day. This is not the first time that pro-Russian propaganda has produced false covers of the famous French satirical magazine (we talk about it here and here).
For those in a hurry
- The 1648 edition indicated on the cover has not yet been published.
- The date February 14, 2024 actually relates to edition number 1647.
- The actual release on February 14, 2024 is totally different.
- The fake cover is not published on the official website.
Analyzes
Here is an example of sharing:
The infamous French magazine “Charlie Hebdo” mocks the new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Syrsky, sitting in the center of Selidovo
Details of the fake cover
In the details we notice something unusual, like the publication date and price at the bottom right instead of at the top.
Just to give a few examples, here are two of the magazine's latest covers where the date is placed next to the name at the top.
The real cover of Charlie Hebdo
The date shown on the fake cover is February 14, 2024 with the number listed as 1648. The real cover of February 14, 2024 is another and has the number 1647.
The number is important, also for verification purposes. These correspond to the corresponding URL on the site. This is what appears when you visit the 1647 edition page:
If we open the 1648 edition, nothing appears on February 20, 2024. There is only one courtesy page (archived here):
False coverage on Syrsky broadcast by Russian channels
The fake cover has been widespread since at least February 15, 2024 on Russian Telegram channels, as in the case of @Kitreal:
Here is a previous post from the Telegram channel @belvestnik:
Conclusions
The Charlie Hebdo cover depicting Syrsky in a bloody crater does not exist. On the official website, it does not appear on February 20, 2024 at all, although the publication date is February 14, 2024. On that day, in reality, another cover was published. The false image has been circulating since at least February 15, 2024 on Russian Telegram channels.
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