Mediapart calls the antisemitic writings Bardella's; Le Figaro says 'attributed'; taz quotes him: 'crude forgeries'
Mediapart has published messages it says Jordan Bardella wrote as a young party member. Bardella is president of the Rassemblement National. Five reports we hold agree that the messages were published. Four hedge on whether he wrote them, and one states it as fact. None quotes the messages.
What is agreed. Libération reports that Mediapart published the messages on Monday 28 September. Le Figaro, Libération, taz and Dagens Nyheter all name Mediapart as the source. Le Figaro and Dagens Nyheter say the messages date from when he was a young party member. taz says he was a young man.
Where they split. Mediapart states it as fact. The other four hedge.
| Outlet | How it states the writings | His or his party's reply |
|---|---|---|
| Mediapart | "les écrits antisémites du président du Rassemblement national" (as fact) | not carried |
| Le Figaro | "attribués à": attributed to him | he contests them |
| Libération | "aurait tenu": he is alleged to have made the remarks | party officials: "manipulation", "barbouzerie" |
| taz | "soll … geäußert haben": he is said to have written them | "plumpen Fälschungen": crude forgeries |
| Dagens Nyheter | "uppges": he is said to have written them | not carried |
How the reply is framed. Le Figaro's headline carries "Barbouzerie" (a dirty-tricks job) next to "il devrait démissionner" (he should resign). Libération's headline says the RN "fait front commun dans le complotisme", closing ranks in conspiracy thinking. Its body attributes the words to party officials.
The widening. Mediapart goes beyond the messages: "l'antisémitisme est toléré au RN", meaning antisemitism is tolerated in the party.
What is not settled - Whether Bardella wrote the messages. Only Mediapart says he did. - What the messages say. None of the five reports quotes them. - Who is calling for him to resign. Le Figaro and Dagens Nyheter report the calls. Neither names every caller.
This story is about whether the leader of France's largest opposition party wrote antisemitic messages as a young man, and how French and foreign papers report the claim.
How it got here. The Front National was founded in 1972. French courts convicted its founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen, several times over remarks about Jews and the Holocaust. His daughter, Marine Le Pen, took over the party in 2011. She expelled her father in 2015 and renamed the party Rassemblement National (RN) in 2018. The aim was to shed the party's past and make it electable. Critics have long said the change was only on the surface. The party rejects that.
Jordan Bardella joined the Front National as a teenager and rose fast. He became an MEP in 2019 and party president in 2022. In the European Parliament he leads the Patriots for Europe group. In March 2025 a French court convicted Marine Le Pen of misusing European Parliament funds and barred her from standing for office. She appealed. If the ban holds, Bardella is the party's likely presidential candidate. The next presidential election is due in spring 2027.
Who is involved. Mediapart is a French investigative news site that runs on subscriptions. It published the messages. Bardella and his party dispute them. Other French politicians have reacted, and some are calling for him to resign.
What is at stake. The party's bid for the presidency rests heavily on its claim to have left its founder's antisemitism behind. If the messages are shown to be his, that claim is damaged at the very top. If they are shown to be forged, the damage falls on the publisher.
Where it stands. The messages are published and Bardella denies writing them. No report we hold shows them to a reader or says how their authorship was established.
What is being argued about
- Whether Bardella wrote the messages, or whether they are forged
- How firmly each outlet states the claim
- Whether the RN's response is a denial or conspiracy thinking
- Calls for Bardella to resign
Claims and verdicts
Marine Le Pen, le RN et l’antisémitisme: ce n’est pas une «dinguerie», c’est une entreprise de dissimulation
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Read it at Mediapart →
What we have measured
Actor unnamed Says parliament rejected the measures but names no party or vote ×1Agenda: AI leads The headline makes AI the main report on the agenda. ×1Agenda lead Puts AI at the top of the agenda and does not mention tariffs ×1Asserted not attributed Says flat that the island is exposed to Washington's economic appetite, with no source. ×1
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Le Figaro
Le Figaro
🇫🇷FR ·
newspaper · independent
Jordan Bardella accusé d’antisémitisme : le RN fait front commun dans le complotisme
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Read it at Libération →
What we have measured
Accuracy of office Calls him mayor of the département, not the town. ×1Actor label The Houthis are called 'rebels' in the report's own voice. ×1Admission and denial split Separates what the MEP admits (removing the flag) from what she denies (trampling it). ×1Affiliation named links her to a French channel ×1
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t
taz
Frankreich vor Präsidentschaftswahlen: RN-Chef Bardella soll „obsessiv“ antisemitisch gewesen sein
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Read it at taz →
What we have measured
Actor named names both coalition parties as the sides of the conflict ×1Actor named Makes the Constitutional Court the actor that overturned the Supreme Court's argument. ×1With no actor named critics The pressure comes from 'the internet', with no critic named. ×1Asserted in the outlet's voice a motive assigned to an entire electorate, no source and no evidence ×1
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Dagens Nyheter
Dagens Nyheter
🇸🇪SE ·
newspaper · independent
Marine Le Pen, le RN et l’antisémitisme: ce n’est pas une «dinguerie», c’est une entreprise de dissimulation
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Read it at Mediapart →
What we have measured
Actor unnamed Says parliament rejected the measures but names no party or vote ×1Agenda: AI leads The headline makes AI the main report on the agenda. ×1Agenda lead Puts AI at the top of the agenda and does not mention tariffs ×1Asserted not attributed Says flat that the island is exposed to Washington's economic appetite, with no source. ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Le Figaro
Le Figaro
🇫🇷FR ·
newspaper · independent
Frankreich vor Präsidentschaftswahlen: RN-Chef Bardella soll „obsessiv“ antisemitisch gewesen sein
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Read it at taz →
What we have measured
Actor named names both coalition parties as the sides of the conflict ×1Actor named Makes the Constitutional Court the actor that overturned the Supreme Court's argument. ×1With no actor named critics The pressure comes from 'the internet', with no critic named. ×1Asserted in the outlet's voice a motive assigned to an entire electorate, no source and no evidence ×1
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L
Libération
Jordan Bardella accusé d’antisémitisme : le RN fait front commun dans le complotisme
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at Libération →
What we have measured
Accuracy of office Calls him mayor of the département, not the town. ×1Actor label The Houthis are called 'rebels' in the report's own voice. ×1Admission and denial split Separates what the MEP admits (removing the flag) from what she denies (trampling it). ×1Affiliation named links her to a French channel ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Le Figaro
Le Figaro
🇫🇷FR ·
newspaper · independent
Dagens Nyheter
Dagens Nyheter
🇸🇪SE ·
newspaper · independent
Who wrote it
Le Figaro
Dagens Nyheter
Coverage, outlet by outlet
Le Figaro
Le Figaro
🇫🇷FR ·
newspaper · independent
Dagens Nyheter
Dagens Nyheter
🇸🇪SE ·
newspaper · independent
Frankreich vor Präsidentschaftswahlen: RN-Chef Bardella soll „obsessiv“ antisemitisch gewesen sein
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at taz →
What we have measured
Actor named names both coalition parties as the sides of the conflict ×1Actor named Makes the Constitutional Court the actor that overturned the Supreme Court's argument. ×1With no actor named critics The pressure comes from 'the internet', with no critic named. ×1Asserted in the outlet's voice a motive assigned to an entire electorate, no source and no evidence ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
—
Marine Le Pen, le RN et l’antisémitisme: ce n’est pas une «dinguerie», c’est une entreprise de dissimulation
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at Mediapart →
What we have measured
Actor unnamed Says parliament rejected the measures but names no party or vote ×1Agenda: AI leads The headline makes AI the main report on the agenda. ×1Agenda lead Puts AI at the top of the agenda and does not mention tariffs ×1Asserted not attributed Says flat that the island is exposed to Washington's economic appetite, with no source. ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
—
Jordan Bardella accusé d’antisémitisme : le RN fait front commun dans le complotisme
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at Libération →
What we have measured
Accuracy of office Calls him mayor of the département, not the town. ×1Actor label The Houthis are called 'rebels' in the report's own voice. ×1Admission and denial split Separates what the MEP admits (removing the flag) from what she denies (trampling it). ×1Affiliation named links her to a French channel ×1
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—
Deník N
Deník N
🇨🇿CZ ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Actor named The headline names speculators as the actors who evicted a grandmother, stated flat. ×1Asserted, and a government judged A wave of Russian state terrorism is stated as fact and Germany is rated on its response; the piece is labelled a comment ×1Asserted, not attributed Washington's refusal and its reasoning stated flat, with no source ×1Assessment stated flat Says in its own voice, with no source, that Russian air defence worked well. ×1
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El Mundo
El Mundo
🇪🇸ES ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Actor named The dispute is between named Spanish officials over who was warned. There is no figure of Moroccan personnel. ×1Actor named The dispute is between named officials, and the report carries no figure. ×1Asserted, not attributed defiance of a named president is stated flat as what the meeting was ×1Asserted not attributed States Moscow's own reason, retaliation, as fact ×1
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Brussels Signal
Brussels Signal
🇧🇪BE ·
digital · independent
What we have measured
Asserted vs attributed cause and effect on services asserted in the reporter's voice, no figure attached ×1Asserted vs attributed States record diesel prices flat, with no source; another report says there is no shortage ×1Asserted vs attributed The figure of 72 is stated flat, with no named source or document. The report's own inference is 'significant infiltration'. ×1Asserted vs attributed record diesel prices stated flat, with no figure and no source ×1
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Efimerida ton Syntakton
Efimerida ton Syntakton
🇬🇷GR ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Adjective without figure Calls the war bloody but gives no count ×1Anyone hurt named the only report we hold that names one of the dead ×1Anyone hurt named the only report we hold that names a person who died ×1Asserted not attributed Calls the move 'unprecedented' in its own voice ×1
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Observador
Observador
🇵🇹PT ·
digital · independent
What we have measured
Accusation attributed The fuel retailers' charge is attributed, 'accuses'. No government response is carried. ×1Affected person unnamed the woman is not named, and no cause of the eviction is given ×1Analyst verdict as headline one commentator's judgement on European mood is the headline ×1Asserted or attributed the charge against two foreign states is carried as the prime minister's view, not the report's ×1
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Welt
Welt
🇩🇪DE ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Actor named The protests named as the cause of both the arrests and the injuries ×1Actor unnamed The party figure calling for a confidence vote is given only by title. ×1Age band without a share the winner's strength among the youngest voters is claimed with no percentage ×1Asserted flat The 'existential crisis' is stated as fact, not attributed to anyone. ×1
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Frankfurter Allgemeine
Frankfurter Allgemeine
🇩🇪DE ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Actor label The Houthis are called a militia and are cast only as the threat ships need protecting from. ×1With no actor named critics 'After criticism', with no one named as the critic. ×1Anyone hurt counted gives an injury figure, attributed to the ministry, but does not say who was hurt or by whom ×1Asserted flat the report judges the offer vague in its own voice, unattributed ×1
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Rzeczpospolita
Rzeczpospolita
🇵🇱PL ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Accountability The only report to say prosecutors are investigating ×1Asserted not attributed Hungary's need for more time is stated as fact, not as the government's claim ×1Claim asserted flat says EU law has never known such an offer, with no lawyer, official or text cited ×1Correction carried the correction is in the lede, attributed to Lithuania ×1
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Politico Europe
Politico Europe
🇧🇪BE ·
digital · independent
What we have measured
Actor named vaguely The opponents are 'other capitals', with no country named ×1With no actor named accusation The coup accusation is in the passive; the accuser is not named ×1Asserted vs attributed The contradiction is stated as fact by the report, sourced only to unspecified official notes ×1Asserted vs attributed the stall stated flat in the headline, with Athens named as the actor that rejected ×1
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HotNews.ro
HotNews.ro
🇷🇴RO ·
digital · independent
What we have measured
Accusation unanswered AUR's claim of a plan agreed between the president and PSD runs in the headline and lede. No reply from the president is carried. ×1Actor named Names the blocs that refuse any exemption ×1Anonymous sourcing The jamming device found in his car rests on unnamed judicial sources, relayed through a news agency. ×1Asserted not attributed the outcome is declared settled before voting opens ×1
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NOS
NOS
🇳🇱NL ·
public broadcaster · public-service
What we have measured
Actor label The backers are labelled politically; the opponents, all other major parties, get no label ×1Actor named Names the Supreme Court as the court that withdrew the warrant. ×1Actor named and attributed Construction workers are named as having damaged a cable by accident, and the report attributes this to the aviation regulator. ×1Actor named, in passive Israeli airstrikes are named as what destroyed the building, but the sentence puts the building first ×1
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Svenska Dagbladet
Svenska Dagbladet
🇸🇪SE ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Attributed context The Iran link is hedged and credited to another newspaper ×1Hedged context Base's use for strikes on Iran is hedged and attributed to another paper ×1Hedged or flat a directional claim about the race stated flat, with no poll figure behind it ×1Loss stated flat, size not given a large loss asserted with no figure, and a coalition demand named in the same line ×1
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Gazeta Wyborcza
Gazeta Wyborcza
🇵🇱PL ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Actor named Russia is named as acting against the bridge, in active voice ×1Asserted cause Voters' reason for backing the AfD is stated flat as a fact about the mainstream parties. ×1Asserted, not attributed the three-year gain is stated as what the deal would have secured, with no source ×1Asserted versus attributed the link between the pardons and the US talks is stated flat in the headline ×1
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ABC
ABC
🇪🇸ES ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Figure chosen 80,000, stated flat and unsourced; every other report we hold says about 70,000 ×1Figure chosen 80,000 crossed, stated flat, no source for the number ×1How hard the claim is stated Calls it an invasion in the outlet's own voice, unattributed, inside a sentence about the judge. ×1Which figure is used same two days, no figure at all: thousands ×1
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Die Presse
Die Presse
🇦🇹AT ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Who is named as acting Calls the party right and its people the far right in the outlet's own voice; three reports use only its name. ×1
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Il Giornale
Il Giornale
🇮🇹IT ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Euractiv
Euractiv
🇧🇪BE ·
digital · independent
What we have measured
Measure chosen the only report we hold that breaks the result down by voters' age ×1Measure chosen the only report we hold that publishes how the age groups split ×1Which figure is used about 80,000 stated flat and unsourced — an order of magnitude above every other figure we hold ×1Which figure is used Puts 80,000 across the border in two days with no source for the figure and nobody attributed for it. ×1
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Telex
Telex
🇭🇺HU ·
digital · independent
What we have measured
Actor framed as giving The headline makes the government the actor, and what it does is support drivers. ×1Actor named NATO is named as acting; it 'chased them off' ×1Adopted term Uses the government's own phrase 'targeted support' without quotation marks ×1Asserted vs attributed 'under cover of night' attributed to Mária Schmidt, with the ministry's 8pm set beside it ×1
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Le Monde
Le Monde
🇫🇷FR ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Anyone hurt named or counted the only death toll we hold; a round number, hedged, nobody named ×1Anyone hurt named or counted the only report we hold that gives a death toll; it counts, does not name ×1Who says the label flat in the headline, no source, no hedge ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
El País
El País
🇪🇸ES ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Figure chosen more than 70,000 crossed, the higher figure not mentioned ×1Word for the event invasion, in quote marks and put in a party leader's mouth ×1Word for the event, attributed same word, but in quotation marks and inside a politician's accusation ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
la Repubblica
la Repubblica
🇮🇹IT ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Süddeutsche Zeitung
Süddeutsche Zeitung
🇩🇪DE ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Hedged or stated states flat that police do not know whether the person seen is the man they want ×1Suspect identified how age and home town only, and the sabotage is what police attribute, not what the report asserts ×1
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