Authorities in France and Germany have dismissed viral social media claims suggesting Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders used cocaine during a train trip to Kyiv as baseless disinformation.

The trip, involving Macron, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, was for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Social media users and Russian propagandists, including Maria Zakharova, spread what some have claimed are manipulated images and revived drug-use accusations, but some claim evidence shows the alleged “white powder” was a tissue and the “straw” a toothpick, Newsweek has reported.

The Élysée Palace and German officials labeled the claims as absurd and part of a broader Russian disinformation campaign.

Written by B.C. Begley