Kremlin website removes the word ‘elections’ from transcript of Macron speech

After French President Emmanuel Macron gave a speech following a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin’s website posted an official transcript that excluded every phrase in which Macron mentioned the word “elections.”

For example, although Macron explicitly noted that the arrests of Moscow protesters demanding fair elections have raised numerous concerns, the Kremlin’s transcription of that comment read, “People have become concerned by the events in Moscow: the arrests and so on, all the limitations that have been instituted by law enforcement.”

The BBC Russian Service identified at least three other instances in which similar changes were made and the word “elections” was removed from the Kremlin’s transcript. Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary to Vladimir Putin, told the outlet that the changes were a result of interpretation errors. He remarked that “interpreters have a very difficult job.”