On October 26, 2023, a photo of an alleged cover of the German satirical publication EULENSPIEGEL was disseminated on social media.
The cover shows the participants of the Paris Olympics, presumably suffering from parasite bites. The animated photo is accompanied by a German caption: Ist Krätze die neue olympische Sportart 2024? (Is scabies the new Olympic sport in 2024?). The issue number is 11/2023.
The cover disseminated under the name of EULENSPIEGEL is fabricated. The latest issue of the publication has a different visual. No similar visual can be found among past issues either.
EULENSPIEGEL is a German satirical magazine whose issues are published on a monthly basis. On the cover of the 11th edition of 2023, instead of the caricature mentioned above, one can see a wasp in the uniform of German Wehrmacht officer Claus von Stauffenberg Stauffenberg is famous for having attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. EULENSPIEGEL’s graphic image refers to the alleged attack on German far-right AfD politician Tino Chrupalla and his hospitalization.
The previous cover of the magazine features a satirical photo of the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The magazine has published a number of graphic images and caricatures in recent months; however, no material of similar design or theme to the Paris Olympics can be found on the publication’s website, nor on its Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram accounts.
The fabricated cover echoes the spread of bedbugs in Paris. Ministers fear that the bugs will damage Paris’ reputation and negatively affect tourism, especially when Paris hosts the Olympics in 2024. In addition, the issue of participation/non-participation of athletes with Russian and Belarusian citizenship in the Olympics is still relevant. On October 12, 2023, the Executive Council of the International Olympic Committee made a decision to suspend the authority of the Russian Olympic Committee.
The Paris Olympics have been targeted by Russian-language Facebook accounts in the past as well. In general, fabricating the covers of Western publications is a common tool for Kremlin propaganda. For more information on the topics, see the articles prepared by “Myth Detector:”
- Fabricated Covers Disseminated in the Name of Polish and German Outlets
- Another Fabricated Cover about Ukraine Disseminated in the Name of EULENSPIEGEL
- How does Kremlin Propaganda Fabricate the Covers of Western Outlets to Discredit Ukraine?
Anastasia Japaridze
Myth Detector Lab
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