Why was the conspiratorial book “Become Brigitte” (temporarily) more on Amazon?

Some will not fail to see more than a coincidence of the calendar. Even though Emmanuel Macron was on the United States official on Monday, February 24, a conspiratorial book defending the thesis according to which his wife Brigitte is a transgender woman was removed from the Amazon sales site, in France and stranger. Before reappearing, 24 hours later.

“We are sorry. The web address you have entered is not a functional page of our site, ”we could read this Tuesday morning on the French page. A few hours later, the page finally reappeared … But it is no longer possible to order the book, “currently unavailable”. “We do not know when this article will be supplied again or if it will be,” displays the site. This Tuesday morning, it is again possible to order it.

Amazon has often been pinned to let prosper, on its site, conspiratorial books on covid or climate change, for example. Boosted by algorithms, the latter sometimes find themselves at the top of the ranking by relevance, even the best sales, as we said at length in November.

Contacted to find out why the page had disappeared before reappearing, Amazon has not yet answered us. On social networks, some Internet users were advancing Tuesday at the end of the day that this temporary withdrawal from the book could have been an initiative of the author himself … in order to cry out for censorship and cause a “Streisand effect”.

The alleged “biggest scandal in the history of humanity”

The political influencer and controversial animator on Sud Radio, Alexis Poulin, was also one of the first in France to move this disappearance this Tuesday morning. “Yes, yes, we are looking for something,” he quipped, accompanying his message with an emoji “dead laughing” and a capture of the error page to which the link then returned. Shortly after, Xavier Poussard promised “more details during the day”.

In her book “The Madam” affair, published in March 2024, the great reporter to the Obs Emmanuelle Anizon brought back the genesis of this fake news concerning Brigitte Macron on December 10, 2021. A video is then broadcast on youtube by a certain Natacha Rey, who presents himself as an independent journalist. The letter made and documents, of which Xavier Poussard was editor, quickly echoes it.

Subsequently, “Xavier Poussard began to translate his argument at the end of 2023 under the advice of Aurélien Poirson (a former advertiser) Known on X under the name of Zoé Sagan, and says he sent him in English to the entourage of Donald Trump “, explained in April 2024 to AFP Emmanuelle Anizon.

Macron gets involved against the “fadas”

It is undoubtedly thus that this theory has come up to Candace Owens. Concerning it, It all started on March 11, 2024. “Dingue: it is the biggest scandal in the history of humanity,” she said that day on her social networks. “Becoming Brigitte” is also the name of his podcast in six episodes, broadcast on the Spotify platform since the end of January. This is still accessible online this Tuesday morning.

Still in March 2024, Emmanuel Macron himself reacted to these conspiracy theories aimed at his wife. “The worst thing I think is the false information and the mounted scenarios, with people who end up believing in it and who jostle you, including in your intimacy. I will say no more, ”he said in front of the cameras on March 8, International Women’s Rights Day. Before confirming that he was referring to his wife Brigitte, believing that “there are still fadas”.

Contacted to find out if he had intervened directly to (try to) have the Amazon book withdrawn, the Élysée Palace sent us back to Brigitte Macron’s cabinet. The latter claims to have initiated any procedure to have this sales book withdrawn, while recognizing that the First Lady had already filed a complaint for cyberbullying or defamation about this fake news.

Relay such transphobic rumors can also cost dear: in September 2024, Natacha Rey and another woman were sentenced to a fine of 500 euros suspended as well as to pay several thousand euros in damages and interest to Brigitte Macron .