World News for Students of English

14-07-2025 07:00

A fake Charlie Hebdo cover appeared online showing LGBT supporters in Moldova chasing away a priest. It falsely claimed Moldova had chosen a new religion and was shared widely on Telegram and social media.

However, this image was not published by Charlie Hebdo. The real issue number 1716, published on 11 June, had a completely different cover about France’s interior minister. The fake image was meant to spread disinformation and attack Moldova’s Pride event. This is not the first time false Charlie Hebdo covers have been used for pro-Russian propaganda. Another example falsely described a peaceful anti-LGBT protest in Chișinău as a victim of police violence. However, fact-checkers confirmed the police acted fairly, and the anti-LGBT group tried to break through police lines.

The EU’s disinformation watchdog reported that these stories are meant to promote homophobia and paint LGBT rights as against Christian or national values. In reality, many LGBT Europeans live with faith peacefully, and such attacks are based on false ideas.

Difficult words: propaganda (information used to influence people’s opinions), fact-checker (a person or group that checks if news or stories are true), watchdog (a group that checks and reports on wrong actions), homophobia (fear, dislike, or hate toward people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender).

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