DISINFO: Bernard-Henri Lévy was involved in overthrowing Gaddafi and destroying the country
SUMMARY
[Bernard-Henri] Lévy is not just a journalist and a "philosopher" - he is a symbolic person. In recent decades, he not only fought Russia always and everywhere: from Georgia in 2008 to Ukraine in 2014, but also brought freedom to miserable peoples around the world.
The most memorable was his role in the Libyan events: it was Lévy who, after the start of the unrest, went to Libya, launched an agitation and most actively pushed [Nicolas] Sarkozy to the operation against Gaddafi. So on his personal account, there is already one act of aggression that actually destroyed the country - but it was for the sake of humanistic values.
RESPONSE
This is an example of recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation that seeks to discredit high-profile individuals in the West who are strongly critical of the Kremlin’s domestic and foreign policies.
Pro-Kremlin disinformation has often targeted Bernard-Henry Lévy in recent years because of his highly critical views of the Putin regime, and his endorsement of popular protests against authoritarian governments in various parts of the world including in the former Soviet Union. For example, he was present in Kyiv during the Euromaidan protests.
Lévy has been accused by pro-Kremlin outlets of being an “ideologist of the liberal world order” who has plotted to overthrow Gaddafi in Libya, trained the Islamist opposition in Libya and the protesters in Maidan, and incited a war in Syria. For more details, read here our analysis titled "The Kremlin and the Philosopher's moan".
Lévy has also been accused of being behind the protests in Belarus and supervising Tsikhanouskaya’s team. He has been depicted as an “agent of the Western neo-liberal agenda involved in regime-change efforts in Belarus.
Technical remark: This disinformation was broadcast via Sputnik. Due to the EU decision to restrict the spread and dissemination of RT and Sputnik inside the EU, access to the link may not work inside the EU.