On April 12, member of the European Parliament Marcel de Graaff (non-party), who was expelled from the ID (Identity and Democracy (French: Identité et démocratie, ID), right-wing to far-right) on October 24, 2022, for pro-Russian and anti-European statements, published a fake infographic on Twitter.
This Photoshop work aims to show that the sanctions imposed on Russia for invading Ukraine only increase Russia’s GDP and Europe’s decline.
He also called to stop the supply of weapons to Ukraine, which, in principle, has nothing to do with sanctions, but only stimulates the economy: arms enterprises receive additional funding and create new jobs.
For example, as InsightNews informed you earlier, arms exports from Bulgaria have only tripled and people are returning to their homeland to work in the arms industry.
The MP or the forces behind him added the Statista (online platform specialized in market and consumer data) symbol to the picture.
However, minimal investigation revealed that the image was fabricated.
The chart shows that the economies of India and China are increasing the capitalization of their economies, while the US and Russia are decreasing.
Who is Marcel de Graaff
The far-right Identity and Democracy group in the European Parliament suspended him for openly endorsing Russia’s illegal war on Ukraine, and he has since quit.
According to a statement from the politician from the right-wing populist Forum for Democracy party in the Netherlands, the group’s “attempt to silence him about NATO/Ukraine” was the reason behind his choice.
Photo: © European Union