Facts And Fact Checking

Video shows French President Emmanuel Macron removing a bag of cocaine from a table as journalists entered the train cabin where he was meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Enlarged photographs and video footage show the white object Macron removed from the table and stuffed in his pocket was a tissue. This was also confirmed by the French government.

Viral social media posts are alleging that French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer were caught taking cocaine on their trip to Kyiv.

At the centre of the claims is a video showing the three leaders greeting one another on a train from Poland to Ukraine, ahead of a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to reaffirm their support for his country.

It’s a tissue of lies.

A bizarre conspiracy that European leaders snorted cocaine en route to critical Ukraine talks has been roundly ridiculed by the French president’s office, after it was promoted by Russian trolls as well as American conspiracists such as Alex Jones.

“This fake news is being spread by France’s enemies, both abroad and at home. We must remain vigilant against manipulation,” the Elysee Palace posted on X.

The Ethics and Public Policy Center, a think tank that says it opposes “the extreme progressive agenda while building consensus of conservatives,” recently issued a report on a key abortion medication, mifepristone, that it says raises questions about its safety. After analyzing insurance claims for more than 865,000 prescribed mifepristone abortions, the group said it had determined that almost 11 percent of women experienced a “serious adverse event,” much higher than an overall 0.5 percent rate found in clinical studies.

President Emmanuel Macron's office has accused France's enemies of spreading fake news by suggesting that he and other European leaders had taken drugs on a train during a visit to Kyiv.

Video footage published online showed Macron sitting at a table in a train compartment with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In the footage, Macron removes a crumpled white object from the table.

Countries with lower GDPs tend to have high tariffs. AllSides highlights content from Gigafact, a network of newsrooms that respond to online claims. View the full fact brief on Econofact.

When the Washington Post reported via anonymous sources that a government intelligence assessment concluded the Venezuelan government was not directing the migration of members of the Trenreport de Aragua gang to the United States, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, dismissed such reports and said those “behind this illegal leak of classified intelligence” had “twisted and manipulated [the information] to convey the exact opposite finding.”

The national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline is still over $3, and no state has an average price below $2.60. But since mid-April, President Donald Trump has falsely claimed, repeatedly, that gasoline prices “hit $1.98 a gallon” in multiple states. Now we may know his source.

Before publishing our April 24 story about the president’s inaccurate claims of much lower gasoline prices, we asked the White House for supporting evidence. Officials didn’t provide any.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2025 general recommendations are that children receive about 19 vaccinations and other immunizations. AllSides highlights content from Gigafact, a network of newsrooms that respond to online claims. View the full fact brief on Wisconsin Watch.

During his Tuesday meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, President Donald Trump falsely minimized the importance of the US trade relationship with Canada.

“We don’t do much business with Canada from our standpoint. They do a lot of business with us. We’re at like 4%,” Trump said.