ManufacturedTweets shared more than a hundred times claim that French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon wears a 17,750€ Rolex watch. Yet, the photos used to support this claim have obviously been sourced elsewhere.
"Un bon communiste !" pic.twitter.com/n1Dgi90fD5
— Stalker (@_Stalker_69_) March 20, 2017
(Translation: ‘A relaxed Jean-Luc Mélenchon with a Rolex worth 17,750€’)
This photo-collage dates back to April 2016. It appears frequently on Twitter accounts and Facebook pages affiliated to the French extreme right. However, the author of the initial post, who presents himself as an environmental activist, has insisted several times that the photo-collage is a hoax.
https://twitter.com/Alex_Le_Rouge/status/721841859077779456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
(Translation: ‘Those people who really believe that Mélenchon has a Rolex must really learn how to think.’)
In April 2016, Jean-Luc Mélenchon denied the rumour, writing on his website that he did not own a Rolex and did not desire one either. The website France TV Info also concluded that the watch the European deputy of the Left Party wears was a model from the Seiko 5 line, which costs between 70€ and 200€ depending on the model.
