Daniel Otera
A controversial ruling by a French appeals court has reignited global debate over the growing use of conspiracy theories and disinformation to attack high-profile women often by targeting their gender identity or private lives.
On Thursday, the court cleared two French women previously convicted of defaming France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron, by falsely claiming she was born male. The ruling has drawn strong reactions from women’s rights advocates and digital rights groups, who warn it sets a troubling precedent at a time when online falsehoods can rapidly damage reputations and fuel coordinated abuse.
The case dates back to December 2021, when Amandine Roy, a self-described spiritual medium, published a four-hour YouTube video. In the recording, she interviewed Natacha Rey, who presented herself as an independent journalist. Rey claimed Brigitte Macron had been born male under the name “Jean-Michel Trogneux” the same name as her actual brother and later transitioned before marrying President Emmanuel Macron.
Despite the unfounded nature of the allegations, the video quickly gained traction online, boosted by conspiracy networks in France and later in the United States. Macron filed a libel complaint, and in September 2023, a lower court found both women guilty. They were ordered to pay €8,000 to the First Lady and €5,000 to her brother.
However, the Paris Appeals Court overturned the conviction, stating that the women acted in “good faith”, a position many observers find difficult to reconcile with the content of the video, which included graphic speculation about gender reassignment surgery and intimate family details.
“The use of ‘good faith’ to excuse targeted disinformation undermines both the justice system and the safety of women in public life,” said Dominique Pradalie, president of the French National Union of Journalists.
The Brigitte Macron case mirrors a growing international pattern in which prominent women are attacked with false, gender-based narratives aimed at undermining their credibility and dignity.
A 2024 study by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) analysed over 560,000 comments on Instagram posts by ten prominent American female politicians, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Elizabeth Warren. The research found that 1 in every 25 comments contained toxic abuse, including rape threats, racial slurs, and degrading sexist language. Worryingly, 93% of these comments remained visible, despite clearly violating platform guidelines.
Globally, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has documented the scale of the problem. According to its 2023 global survey on online violence against women journalists, 73% of respondents had experienced threats, harassment, or disinformation campaigns. Many reported trauma, self-censorship, or withdrawal from public platforms.
“This is not just harassment it’s a deliberate strategy to silence women and push them out of public life,” UNESCO stated in a joint report with the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ).
The report also highlighted how these attacks are often coordinated, using false claims about women’s gender identity, sexuality, or family history to delegitimize them. Similar tactics have been employed against women leaders worldwide, from Michelle Obama and Jacinda Ardern to politicians in Brazil, India, and Tunisia.
A 2022 policy brief by UN Women warned that female leaders are three times more likely than men to face online abuse and gendered disinformation, especially during elections or while in high-profile roles. The report noted that such campaigns frequently shift attention from public policy to personal narratives, “reinforcing harmful gender stereotypes and undermining women’s credibility and authority in public life”.
The false claim that Brigitte Macron was born male did not remain a fringe theory. According to a March 2024 report by France 24, the allegation gained renewed traction outside Europe, particularly on U.S.-based platforms such as Telegram, Truth Social, and X (formerly Twitter). Analysts observed coordinated amplification of the claim by digital conspiracy networks, especially those linked to anti-government and anti-LGBTQ+ movements.
In Nigeria, similar patterns have emerged. During the 2023 general elections, several female candidates across party lines faced a wave of false narratives, including rumours of secret marriages, mental illness, and immoral behaviour.
An investigation by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) found that 9 out of 10 prominent female candidates were targets of online conspiracy campaigns. The report, Truth Under Fire: The Multi-Front Assault on Facts During the 2023 Nigerian Election, revealed how social media was weaponised to circulate fabricated stories, using a mix of cultural stereotypes and fake personal histories to discredit women contenders.
“The attacks were not just spontaneous but structured, often combining old stereotypes with new digital tactics to dissuade voters from supporting female aspirants,” the ICIR report noted.
Experts say such attacks thrive in the absence of strict regulation and content accountability. While some countries have passed laws to combat disinformation, enforcement remains inconsistent.
France’s own “anti-fake news law”, passed in 2018, empowers judges to block misleading content during elections and mandates that platforms disclose funding for political ads. But enforcement has proven difficult especially when misinformation originates from abroad or is disguised in coded language.
Brigitte Macron has not issued a public statement following the appeal ruling. Her legal team, however, previously described the allegations as “grotesque fabrications designed to damage her dignity”.
In a related matter, French prosecutors have confirmed that four men will face trial in October 2025 for allegedly harassing the First Lady. Among them is Aurelien Poirson-Atlan, a conspiracy influencer known online as “Zoe Sagan”, who has been linked to multiple far-right misinformation campaigns.
For now, Brigitte Macron remains one of the most high-profile examples of how the internet is increasingly used to attack not only credibility but identity itself.