Eight years ago, French bloggers began to claim the President’s wife, Brigitte Macron, was born a man. As the false allegations spread internationally, the Macrons decided to take legal action. Yesterday, ten people appeared in a Paris court charged with cyberbullying and in the US, the right wing influencer Candace Owens faces a defamation suit. So where did this come from? And in a world of fake news, is there value in fighting for the truth?

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Guest: Charles Bremner, Paris contributor, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Olivia Case and Micalea Arneson.

Clips: De de / YouTube, NBC, CNN, France24, Engineering Science, Theo Von Clips, Candace Owens / YouTube, Daily Wire Plus, BFMTV.

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com

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