Fact Check: Did France and Ukraine test Trump with fake intelligence?
WASHINGTON, DC: A claim that France and Ukraine deliberately gave President Donald Trump fake intelligence to test him has resurfaced online. The allegation has sparked reactions across social media, with users sharing posts and memes while discussing Trump, Ukraine, and US intelligence. But what exactly is the claim about, and did France and Ukraine really try to test Trump this way?
Claim: France and Ukraine fed false intelligence to test Trump
France and Ukraine fed Trump false intelligence to test whether he would leak it to Putin—and he did. pic.twitter.com/JLhO75EwNm
— Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) September 20, 2026
The rumor that France and Ukraine fed Trump false intelligence to test whether he would leak it to Putin has drawn attention on X.
One user, Spencer Hakimian, claimed that “France and Ukraine fed Trump false intelligence to test whether he would leak it to Putin.” The post then added, “and he did.”
The claim prompted some users to treat the allegation as true and share critical comments and memes. One user called Trump a “traitor to the West.” Another wrote, “OF COURSE he did,” while referring to a separate allegation involving Trump and Israeli intelligence during his first term.
It's not surprising to learn that Trump tells Putin everything. Trump is a traitor and a national security threat. https://t.co/brNv6AjsVn
— Rick Truth (@TruthRick58928) September 20, 2026
Other users also repeated the claim and criticized Trump.
OF COURSE he did. Just like he gave top-secret Israeli intelligence to Putin in the first term. We know this is true, because in a highly unusual move, the Israeli government actually came out and said that they had changed their intel sharing arrangements with us. Rule # 1. https://t.co/1S38TOaqcH
— BryanCunningham (@denvercunning) September 20, 2026
One commenter said, “It’s not surprising to learn that Trump tells Putin everything,” while another expressed strong opposition to Trump and his family.
Fact Check: False; no credible evidence to support the claim
The claims are false. There is no credible evidence that France and Ukraine deliberately gave the Trump administration fake intelligence to test whether it would leak the information to Putin. There is also no evidence that such planted information was leaked.
The rumor spread widely on social media in mid-to-late January 2026, including posts by X user Spencer Hakimian. It followed French President Emmanuel Macron’s January 15 statement that France was providing about two-thirds of Ukraine’s intelligence support as Ukraine relied less on the United States.
The claim mainly came from comments made by Vincent Crouzet, a former French intelligence operative associated with the DGSE, on French TV channel LCI around January 15-16. Crouzet discussed a reported loss of trust between Ukrainian and US intelligence agencies following the February 28, 2025, Oval Office incident.
He said Ukrainian officials had reduced sharing sensitive intelligence with US partners because they suspected the information could reach Moscow. He said this helped explain France’s larger role in supporting Ukraine.
Reviews of the available footage and transcripts by several fact-checking outlets found that Crouzet did not say France or Ukraine deliberately sent fake intelligence to the United States as part of a test or sting operation.
Instead, he spoke about suspected leaks and concerns over the sharing of real intelligence. Crouzet later addressed the claim on X on January 18, 2026, saying he had not claimed that Ukraine sent false information. He explained that Ukrainian officials suspected a risk of information leaking from the US to Russia. Crouzet also told fact-checkers that he never said Ukraine had sent false intelligence.
