In this morning’s Le Soir ( a French language Belgian newspaper), my photograph was published alongside a “story” entitled “Story Killers: comment l’Inde crée des fake news depuis Bruxelles” (Story Killers: How India creates fake news from Brussels).
The article implies that I, and my London-based publication EU Today, are a part of a network of industrial scale misinformation dissemination.
This appears to be based on the fact that the Belgian-based EU Disinfo Lab have reported that a single article published on EU Today was re-distributed by ANI, an Indian news agency.
The article, which I personally sub-edited, is absolutely sound, and covers an issue of great concern to the European Parliament (and even greater concern to the government of Pakistan).
It is suggested that the author of the article, Phillipe Jeune, is a fake journalist. Phillipe is an accredited journalist, working under a non de plume, as is common and legitimate practice.
I was contacted by EU Disinfo lab for details of the journalist. As I have no idea who these people actually are, or for that matter who they may be working for or on behalf of, I declined to respond. I am also aware of rumours circulating in the Brussels press corps and in the EU institutions concerning the funding of EU Disinfo Lab.
In any event, I never disclose sources.
I note from the EU Disinfo Lab website, that ANI, Reuters, Yahoo News, Hindustan Times, India TV, The Print, and Business Standard also rather sensibly declined to respond.
