It is a fight that the public group has been leading for several years now. There are specialized journalists who work for the program in particular True or Fake on France info. There is the work of the website, on which there is a section dedicated to fact checking. There is also a verification unit for amateur images posted on social networks.
Reports and testimonies on disinformation aired in TV news
From now on France Télévisions wants to give visibility to its actions, so the group will devote today reports and testimonies in its television news on this issue of misinformation. And on social networks, all journalists and faces of the antenna will now use the same keyword, the same hashtag #VraiOuFake.
At France Télévisions, there is one journalist in particular who embodies this fight against disinformation: Julien Pain. He presents the show True or Fake, and spends his days analyzing, verifying, denying information. “We are no longer in phases where disinformation will recede, then come back, then retreat,” he explains at the microphone of Europe 1.
“Fake news has become a fundamental movement”
“Disinformation has taken hold, especially in France, on social networks. And then there are a lot of personalities now who regularly use fake news. So I think it’s a phenomenon that is here to stay. So yes, it takes different forms, it focuses on different issues, different issues. So right now, for example, on the war in Ukraine, that’s probably where there’s the most false information and brainwashing and manipulation. But before, it was indeed the pandemic. And what is certain is that it will not stop and that there will be other subjects. Even if the war in Ukraine is over, fake news has become a fundamental movement, unfortunately, in this society.”
“Older people also participate in disinformation networks”
France Télévisions wishes in particular to contribute to media education. Members of the editorial staff will continue to meet teachers and students, all over France, to provide tools to deal with false information, and to recognize it in particular. A good initiative according to Julien Pain, who still wants to remember that young people are not the only ones affected by misinformation.
“It’s good to go see the youngest. And I think it should be done because it is important that they are equipped from an early age to understand the information they receive from all sides” , emphasizes Julien Pain. “But I think it also has to be work that we do on all audiences, because we mustn’t believe that false information, disinformation, intox, it only affects the youngest. I I can tell you, because my hands are dirty all day, I see what’s going on. Older people, who are 40, 50, even over 60, also participate in these disinformation networks. , and fall into traps that are sometimes more obvious than the youngest. I think we shouldn’t stop at media literacy for a very young audience. We have to go and see everyone world”, assures the journalist.
True or Fake airs at 11:15 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday on the channel France info.