Emma-Kate Symons
@eksymons.bsky.social
Paris-based writer, correspondent. Bylines in @franc-tireur @TheNewEuropean @ConspiracyWatch Global @ForeignPolicy @wsj @PostOpinions @reuters. Alum @columbiajourn 🇦🇺
Pinned
Emma-Kate Symons
@eksymons.bsky.social
· Apr 25
He is a life-long property developer.
So how the hell did he end up as America’s top international negotiator, on everything from Ukraine to the Iran nuclear deal? Asks @eksymons.bsky.social
So how the hell did he end up as America’s top international negotiator, on everything from Ukraine to the Iran nuclear deal? Asks @eksymons.bsky.social
Steve Witkoff, the world's worst diplomat
He is a life-long property developer. So how the hell did he end up as America’s top international negotiator, on everything from Ukraine to the Iran nuclear deal?
www.theneweuropean.co.uk
After the Trump envoy for everything's latest pilgrimage to Moscow to smile and cosy up to his favourite war criminal and dictator, read our @theneweuropean.bsky.social profile of Steve "Putin's a super smart guy" Witkoff ⤵️
« American Blackmail » is the Page 1 headline of French 🇫🇷 daily Libération after Washington 🇺🇸 tries to impose Kremlin 🇷🇺 ultimatum on Ukraine 🇺🇦, forcing Kyiv and all of Europe 🇪🇺 to capitulate to Putin ⤵️
@liberation.fr
@liberation.fr
November 22, 2025 at 11:22 AM
« American Blackmail » is the Page 1 headline of French 🇫🇷 daily Libération after Washington 🇺🇸 tries to impose Kremlin 🇷🇺 ultimatum on Ukraine 🇺🇦, forcing Kyiv and all of Europe 🇪🇺 to capitulate to Putin ⤵️
@liberation.fr
@liberation.fr
Reposted by Emma-Kate Symons
A Rennes, au rassemblement en soutien au directeur d’école menacé de mort : «Déjà que c’est compliqué de trouver des enseignants…»
Une famille l’a menacé de mort, refusant qu’un professeur masculin s’occupe de sa petite fille
Une famille l’a menacé de mort, refusant qu’un professeur masculin s’occupe de sa petite fille
A Rennes, au rassemblement en soutien au directeur d’école menacé de mort : «Déjà que c’est compliqué de trouver des enseignants…»
Enseignants, agents de la ville et parents se sont réunis ce vendredi 21 novembre devant l’école Clôteaux pour soutenir son directeur, en arrêt maladie depuis le 10 octobre. Une famille l’a en effet menacé de mort.
www.liberation.fr
November 21, 2025 at 8:24 PM
A Rennes, au rassemblement en soutien au directeur d’école menacé de mort : «Déjà que c’est compliqué de trouver des enseignants…»
Une famille l’a menacé de mort, refusant qu’un professeur masculin s’occupe de sa petite fille
Une famille l’a menacé de mort, refusant qu’un professeur masculin s’occupe de sa petite fille
📢 "The worst feature of conspiracism is that it replaces agency; encouraging the belief we are all prey to dark and terrible forces that explain our plight but are beyond our control. Conspiracism may look strong but it always comes from a place of weakness."
✏️Matthew D'Ancona
🗞️ The New World
✏️Matthew D'Ancona
🗞️ The New World
The right is wrecking our democracy. What are you going to do to fight back?
✏️ Matthew d'Ancona
✏️ Matthew d'Ancona
Hey liberals! What you gonna do?
The right are undermining the institutions of liberal democracy. Progressives must change tack to stop them
www.thenewworld.co.uk
November 21, 2025 at 11:14 AM
📢 "The worst feature of conspiracism is that it replaces agency; encouraging the belief we are all prey to dark and terrible forces that explain our plight but are beyond our control. Conspiracism may look strong but it always comes from a place of weakness."
✏️Matthew D'Ancona
🗞️ The New World
✏️Matthew D'Ancona
🗞️ The New World
Reposted by Emma-Kate Symons
💥 NEW: ‘Deeply shocking’: Nigel Farage faces fresh claims of racism and antisemitism at school
“He would sidle up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right,’ or ‘Gas them,’ sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers".
Read on for more...
www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-...
“He would sidle up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right,’ or ‘Gas them,’ sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers".
Read on for more...
www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-...
‘Deeply shocking’: Nigel Farage faces fresh claims of racism and antisemitism at school
Bafta-winning director among contemporaries urging contrition and apology from Reform UK leader, who denies the allegations
www.theguardian.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:08 PM
💥 NEW: ‘Deeply shocking’: Nigel Farage faces fresh claims of racism and antisemitism at school
“He would sidle up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right,’ or ‘Gas them,’ sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers".
Read on for more...
www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-...
“He would sidle up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right,’ or ‘Gas them,’ sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers".
Read on for more...
www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-...
Reposted by Emma-Kate Symons
Le préfet de la Meuse va porter plainte pour des « propos révisionnistes » prononcés à l’occasion d’un hommage à Philippe Pétain dans une église de Verdun
Le préfet de la Meuse va porter plainte pour des « propos révisionnistes » prononcés à l’occasion d’un hommage à Philippe Pétain dans une église de Verdun
A l’issue de la messe célébrée à la mémoire du maréchal, un membre de l’Association pour la défense de la mémoire du maréchal Pétain a déclaré qu’il avait été « le premier résistant de France ».
www.lemonde.fr
November 15, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Le préfet de la Meuse va porter plainte pour des « propos révisionnistes » prononcés à l’occasion d’un hommage à Philippe Pétain dans une église de Verdun
Paris was attacked at its ❤️ on Nov 13, 2015. Islamic State terrorists murdered 90 at the Bataclan concert hall, as coordinated shootings+bombings at cafés and Stade de 🇫🇷 brought the death toll to 132, in France's bloodiest night since WW2. An incredibly moving new series tells 7 survivors' stories⤵️
Ten years on, a new drama shows how seven hostages came face-to-face with death
✏️ @eksymons.bsky.social
✏️ @eksymons.bsky.social
“We owe our lives to each other”: The Bataclan survivors tell their story
Ten years on, a new drama shows how seven hostages came face-to-face with death
www.thenewworld.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Paris was attacked at its ❤️ on Nov 13, 2015. Islamic State terrorists murdered 90 at the Bataclan concert hall, as coordinated shootings+bombings at cafés and Stade de 🇫🇷 brought the death toll to 132, in France's bloodiest night since WW2. An incredibly moving new series tells 7 survivors' stories⤵️
“We owe our lives to each other”: Incredibly moving TV drama depicts the real life stories of 7 survivors of the Bataclan Islamist terror attacks 10yrs ago. Held hostage by jihadists they were rescued and found each other after. My✏️ @thenewworldmag.bsky.social www.thenewworld.co.uk/emma-kate-sy...
“We owe our lives to each other”: The Bataclan survivors tell their story
Ten years on, a new drama shows how seven hostages came face-to-face with death
www.thenewworld.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 6:25 PM
“We owe our lives to each other”: Incredibly moving TV drama depicts the real life stories of 7 survivors of the Bataclan Islamist terror attacks 10yrs ago. Held hostage by jihadists they were rescued and found each other after. My✏️ @thenewworldmag.bsky.social www.thenewworld.co.uk/emma-kate-sy...
MHGA - Making Hunger Great Again
The USDA sent an email to grocery stores telling them they are prohibited from offering special discounts to customers affected by the SNAP funding lapse.
I'm aware of at least 2 stores that had offered struggling customers a discount, then withdrew it after receiving this email
I'm aware of at least 2 stores that had offered struggling customers a discount, then withdrew it after receiving this email
November 3, 2025 at 9:36 AM
MHGA - Making Hunger Great Again
Reposted by Emma-Kate Symons
Tech companies are pouring money into AI, and they’re not making it back. Matteo Wong and Charlie Warzel on how everything could come crashing down:
Here’s How the AI Crash Happens
The U.S. is becoming an Nvidia-state.
bit.ly
November 2, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Tech companies are pouring money into AI, and they’re not making it back. Matteo Wong and Charlie Warzel on how everything could come crashing down:
Reposted by Emma-Kate Symons
Reform is still in charge, at least on paper, but much of its authority now exists only in theory. If this is Reform’s model for government, Kent may have provided Britain with a warning.
✏️ @edjennings.bsky.social
✏️ @edjennings.bsky.social
Reform’s shambolic Kent experiment
The catastrophic mess at Kent County Council shows what happens when a populist party, with no idea how government works, gets into power
www.thenewworld.co.uk
November 2, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Reform is still in charge, at least on paper, but much of its authority now exists only in theory. If this is Reform’s model for government, Kent may have provided Britain with a warning.
✏️ @edjennings.bsky.social
✏️ @edjennings.bsky.social
"Brigitte Macron has, in a sense, been handed a life sentence — because who can doubt that she will be haunted by this lie until the end of her days? This hoax, concocted to smear her and wound her husband, the 🇫🇷 President, will never leave her — or her family — in peace." @rreichstadt.bsky.social
Haunted by a Lie: Brigitte Macron and the Endless Life of a Conspiracist Hoax
🖊️ @rreichstadt.bsky.social
🖊️ @rreichstadt.bsky.social
Haunted by a Lie: Brigitte Macron and the Endless Life of a Conspiracist Hoax - Conspiracy Watch
This week in Paris, ten people went on trial for cyber-bullying Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, by spreading a conspiracy theory as grotesque as it was absurd. For the m...
www.conspiracywatch.info
November 1, 2025 at 3:43 PM
"Brigitte Macron has, in a sense, been handed a life sentence — because who can doubt that she will be haunted by this lie until the end of her days? This hoax, concocted to smear her and wound her husband, the 🇫🇷 President, will never leave her — or her family — in peace." @rreichstadt.bsky.social
Reposted by Emma-Kate Symons
A writer tried dating alt-right men as an experiment to learn about them. There is so much going on here I don't even know where to start
www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/love-sex/...
www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/love-sex/...
October 29, 2025 at 12:57 PM
A writer tried dating alt-right men as an experiment to learn about them. There is so much going on here I don't even know where to start
www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/love-sex/...
www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/love-sex/...
Reposted by Emma-Kate Symons
The dominant mood among Chinese entrepreneurs is gloomy. A spate of suicides among bosses this year is widely seen as evidence of intensifying pressure
The sinister disappearance of China’s bosses
Detentions, public shaming and suicides intensify the country’s corporate gloom
econ.st
October 29, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The dominant mood among Chinese entrepreneurs is gloomy. A spate of suicides among bosses this year is widely seen as evidence of intensifying pressure
Reposted by Emma-Kate Symons
To give an example of what I mean, here's a paragraph from the Grokipedia "article" on ICE.
The three citations are to The Heritage Foundation, testimony from the Executive Director of FAIR, and a report from the Center for Immigration Studies.
No dissenting voices allowed on Grokipedia.
The three citations are to The Heritage Foundation, testimony from the Executive Director of FAIR, and a report from the Center for Immigration Studies.
No dissenting voices allowed on Grokipedia.
![Economic and Border Security Effects
ICE's enforcement actions, including interior arrests and removals, contribute to reducing the net fiscal burden of unlawful immigration on U.S. taxpayers, which imposes an estimated annual cost of at least $110 billion after subtracting taxes paid by unlawful households.[157] Unlawful immigrants and their U.S.-born children consume public services—such as education, Medicaid, and welfare—at rates exceeding their tax contributions, with per-household net costs averaging $8,776 annually as of 2024 data.[158] By prioritizing removals of criminal noncitizens and recent arrivals, ICE operations yield fiscal savings through decreased expenditures on these services; for instance, standard economic modeling of enforcement shows net benefits to natives and legal residents from reduced unlawful population size, with surplus gains estimated at billions annually in avoided costs.[159]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2vtbmhmrwzbqcfv4we4uxzzt/bafkreidltkveytnladkueo3gb3aqc4vp3kbw7gec7rss2cfi7tamn3wpmi@jpeg)
October 28, 2025 at 4:18 PM
To give an example of what I mean, here's a paragraph from the Grokipedia "article" on ICE.
The three citations are to The Heritage Foundation, testimony from the Executive Director of FAIR, and a report from the Center for Immigration Studies.
No dissenting voices allowed on Grokipedia.
The three citations are to The Heritage Foundation, testimony from the Executive Director of FAIR, and a report from the Center for Immigration Studies.
No dissenting voices allowed on Grokipedia.
Reposted by Emma-Kate Symons
@conspiration.bsky.social head @rreichstadt.bsky.social is joining today's debate at the @elysee-france.bsky.social convened by #EmmanuelMacron on how social media+the Internet threaten public debate, democracy and elections.
bsky.app/profile/afp....
bsky.app/profile/afp....
🇫🇷 Emmanuel Macron va lancer mardi un débat autour de l'impact des réseaux sociaux et d'internet sur la "déstructuration" du débat public et la démocratie, dans la perspective des prochaines élections, a annoncé lundi l'Elysée.
October 28, 2025 at 12:16 PM
@conspiration.bsky.social head @rreichstadt.bsky.social is joining today's debate at the @elysee-france.bsky.social convened by #EmmanuelMacron on how social media+the Internet threaten public debate, democracy and elections.
bsky.app/profile/afp....
bsky.app/profile/afp....
Reposted by Emma-Kate Symons
A El-Fasher, au Soudan, plus de 460 personnes tuées dans une maternité selon l’OMS
A El-Fasher, au Soudan, plus de 460 personnes tuées dans une maternité selon l’OMS
La maternité saoudienne de la capitale Darfour du Nord a été la cible d’exactions meurtrières menées par les paramilitaires des Forces de soutien rapide. L’Organisation mondiale de la santé a fait état, mercredi 29 octobre, de 460 personnes tuées.
www.lemonde.fr
October 29, 2025 at 4:55 PM
A El-Fasher, au Soudan, plus de 460 personnes tuées dans une maternité selon l’OMS
Reposted by Emma-Kate Symons
ConspiracyWatch takes part in the @elysee-france.bsky.social meeting, where 🇫🇷 President Emmanuel Macron calls for action on the impact of social media and algorithms on public debate, and ways to reinforce democracy.
October 28, 2025 at 5:33 PM
ConspiracyWatch takes part in the @elysee-france.bsky.social meeting, where 🇫🇷 President Emmanuel Macron calls for action on the impact of social media and algorithms on public debate, and ways to reinforce democracy.
Reposted by Emma-Kate Symons
Developing countries need at least 12 times as much financing for climate adaptation as they currently get, the UN says.
Missing $300 Billion Hampers Efforts to Adapt to Climate Change, UN Says
Finance for climate adaptation is only one-twelfth what the world needs, and the gap isn’t shrinking, the UN Environment Programme warns.
bloom.bg
October 29, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Developing countries need at least 12 times as much financing for climate adaptation as they currently get, the UN says.
"West End Girl pulls no punches when detailing the coercion, deceit and betrayal Lily experienced during her marriage to Harbour. Most women I know have been listening to it on repeat. It’s the most graphic, lyrical telling of being on the other side of an open relationship I’ve ever read or heard."
The singer’s remarkable new album West End Girl reveals a world in which women are gaslit into accepting their partners cheating
✏️ @jamieklingler.bsky.social
✏️ @jamieklingler.bsky.social
Lily Allen and the lie of Ethical Non-Monogamy
The singer’s remarkable new album West End Girl reveals a world in which women are gaslit into accepting their partners cheating
www.thenewworld.co.uk
October 29, 2025 at 2:54 PM
"West End Girl pulls no punches when detailing the coercion, deceit and betrayal Lily experienced during her marriage to Harbour. Most women I know have been listening to it on repeat. It’s the most graphic, lyrical telling of being on the other side of an open relationship I’ve ever read or heard."
Reposted by Emma-Kate Symons
The singer’s remarkable new album West End Girl reveals a world in which women are gaslit into accepting their partners cheating
✏️ @jamieklingler.bsky.social
✏️ @jamieklingler.bsky.social
Lily Allen and the lie of Ethical Non-Monogamy
The singer’s remarkable new album West End Girl reveals a world in which women are gaslit into accepting their partners cheating
www.thenewworld.co.uk
October 29, 2025 at 11:00 AM
The singer’s remarkable new album West End Girl reveals a world in which women are gaslit into accepting their partners cheating
✏️ @jamieklingler.bsky.social
✏️ @jamieklingler.bsky.social
Reposted by Emma-Kate Symons
"The growth in scale of the annual festivities has sometimes been dismissed on these shores as yet another symptom of the Americanisation of British culture. Actually, though, there are good reasons to think that we started it..."
This week's @thenewworldmag.bsky.social column is about Halloween.
This week's @thenewworldmag.bsky.social column is about Halloween.
Nerd's Eye View: 12 things you need to know about Halloween
Digging into the detail and data to separate the noise from the news
www.thenewworld.co.uk
October 29, 2025 at 11:04 AM
"The growth in scale of the annual festivities has sometimes been dismissed on these shores as yet another symptom of the Americanisation of British culture. Actually, though, there are good reasons to think that we started it..."
This week's @thenewworldmag.bsky.social column is about Halloween.
This week's @thenewworldmag.bsky.social column is about Halloween.
The plot against Brigitte Macron: “Debunking is no longer enough. Those behind the disinformation campaigns must be held accountable.” Conspiracy Watch's
@rreichstadt.bsky.social on pro-Kremlin far right harassment of 🇫🇷 1st Lady @thenewworldmag.bsky.social
www.thenewworld.co.uk/emma-kate-sy...
@rreichstadt.bsky.social on pro-Kremlin far right harassment of 🇫🇷 1st Lady @thenewworldmag.bsky.social
www.thenewworld.co.uk/emma-kate-sy...
Brigitte Macron versus a far right fantasist
Conspiracy theorist Candace Owens claims that France’s first lady was born a man. Now the president and his wife will face her in court
www.thenewworld.co.uk
October 29, 2025 at 12:42 PM
The plot against Brigitte Macron: “Debunking is no longer enough. Those behind the disinformation campaigns must be held accountable.” Conspiracy Watch's
@rreichstadt.bsky.social on pro-Kremlin far right harassment of 🇫🇷 1st Lady @thenewworldmag.bsky.social
www.thenewworld.co.uk/emma-kate-sy...
@rreichstadt.bsky.social on pro-Kremlin far right harassment of 🇫🇷 1st Lady @thenewworldmag.bsky.social
www.thenewworld.co.uk/emma-kate-sy...
The lie that Brigitte Macron was 'born male' and switched legal identities with her brother is now gospel for the pro-Kremlin 🇫🇷 🇷🇺🇺🇸🇬🇧 lunatic far right insisting powerful women are secretly men.
Anatomy of a conspiracy theory.
My ✏️ @thenewworldmag.bsky.social
www.thenewworld.co.uk/emma-kate-sy...
Anatomy of a conspiracy theory.
My ✏️ @thenewworldmag.bsky.social
www.thenewworld.co.uk/emma-kate-sy...
Brigitte Macron versus a far right fantasist
Conspiracy theorist Candace Owens claims that France’s first lady was born a man. Now the president and his wife will face her in court
www.thenewworld.co.uk
October 29, 2025 at 12:39 PM
The lie that Brigitte Macron was 'born male' and switched legal identities with her brother is now gospel for the pro-Kremlin 🇫🇷 🇷🇺🇺🇸🇬🇧 lunatic far right insisting powerful women are secretly men.
Anatomy of a conspiracy theory.
My ✏️ @thenewworldmag.bsky.social
www.thenewworld.co.uk/emma-kate-sy...
Anatomy of a conspiracy theory.
My ✏️ @thenewworldmag.bsky.social
www.thenewworld.co.uk/emma-kate-sy...
"The idea of the gradual, the subtle and the consensual has gone from world affairs, replaced by the sudden, the belligerent and the shocking. Which makes the liberal promise of the Blair-Clinton era feel even more like a faraway dream." Vale liberal democracy? Read ⤵️ by @jayelwes.bsky.social
The political culture of the west has sunk into a new era of cynicism, contradiction and outright political delusion. But we didn’t fall into it – we were pushed
✏️ Jay Elwes
✏️ Jay Elwes
How we lost our minds
The political culture of the west has sunk into a new era of cynicism, contradiction and outright political delusion. But we didn’t fall into it – we were pushed
www.thenewworld.co.uk
October 29, 2025 at 12:36 PM
"The idea of the gradual, the subtle and the consensual has gone from world affairs, replaced by the sudden, the belligerent and the shocking. Which makes the liberal promise of the Blair-Clinton era feel even more like a faraway dream." Vale liberal democracy? Read ⤵️ by @jayelwes.bsky.social
Reposted by Emma-Kate Symons
“Debunking is no longer enough. Those behind the disinformation campaigns must be held personally accountable.” Conspiracy Watch's Rudy Reichstadt on pro-Kremlin far right conspiracists harassing 🇫🇷 1st Lady in @thenewworldmag.bsky.social by @eksymons.bsky.social
www.thenewworld.co.uk/emma-kate-sy...
www.thenewworld.co.uk/emma-kate-sy...
Brigitte Macron versus a far right fantasist
Conspiracy theorist Candace Owens claims that France’s first lady was born a man. Now the president and his wife will face her in court
www.thenewworld.co.uk
October 29, 2025 at 10:38 AM
“Debunking is no longer enough. Those behind the disinformation campaigns must be held personally accountable.” Conspiracy Watch's Rudy Reichstadt on pro-Kremlin far right conspiracists harassing 🇫🇷 1st Lady in @thenewworldmag.bsky.social by @eksymons.bsky.social
www.thenewworld.co.uk/emma-kate-sy...
www.thenewworld.co.uk/emma-kate-sy...