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?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

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.

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