"Covid-19 was stolen from a Canadian laboratory by Chinese spies", "garlic can cure Covid-19", "the pandemic was predicted during a simulation" ... Since the start of the health crisis , the "fake news", literally "false information", are picked up on a shovel on social networks. Faced with this situation in a context of extremely sensitive pandemic, the government decided to fight them and created a dedicated space "Désinfox" on its site. Where the rub is, it's the way it works.
What do we find there? For the moment, only articles "from the French media which have had a fact-checking section for at least two years" are referenced, that is to say sites which highlight the verification of an assertion which circulates on the net. There are dozens of articles, published notably by Agence France Presse (AFP), Europe 1, Le Monde, Liberation or even 20 Minutes.
But do not search, you will not see any titles from the regional daily press, or from the Parisian, nor from the Figaro, from Les Echos or from online media like Mediapart. For the government, "more than ever it is necessary to trust reliable and verified sources of information", wrote on her Twitter account on April 30, government spokesperson, Sibeth Ndiaye, to present "Désinfox" .
The # COVID19 crisis promotes the spread of #fakenews. More than ever, it is necessary to trust reliable and verified sources of information. This is why the @gouvernementFR site now offers a dedicated space. https://t.co/ZY8ddU8234
- Sibeth Ndiaye (@SibethNdiaye) April 30, 2020A tweet that immediately provoked the ire of press professionals who see there a state distributing good and bad points to journalists. All are mocking a new communication misstep. What about articles that are not referenced? "I dare not imagine that this initiative was not part of a good feeling but their selection is still curious", comments Stéphane Albouy, editorial director of Parisien.
"The verification of information is the basis of our work and it is not reserved only for newsrooms that have created a fack checking space ," he continues. For him, this case "once again testifies to a clumsy communication from the government which maintains an undesirable confusion between government communication and independent information".
"The government is not in its role"
"It is as if for the government, only five Parisian media were doing their job properly," said Emmanuel Poupard, first secretary general of the National Union of Journalists (SNJ). “What contempt for the 35,000 journalists, including those from the regional press. And this, while everyone is working a lot at the moment and in difficult conditions, ”he continues. For the SNJ, "the government is not in its role, it does not have to arbitrate in matters of ethics".
Laurent Joffrin, editorial director of Liberation, which is one of the good students retained by the government site, also believes that this "distinction is difficult to justify". “Government communication is one thing, the work of newsrooms is another. This publication without further explanation risks causing confusion in the minds of readers, especially since its promotion was done by Sibeth Ndiaye, who occupies the very political post of government spokesperson, ”writes- there in the newspaper columns.
Newsletter - The essentials of the news
Every morning, the news seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
On the government side, the idea of wanting to "classify the media" is categorically refuted. “Everything started with a good intention in the face of the sometimes dramatic consequences that fake news can have . And above all it was not done behind the back of the media. Exchanges with journalists from the editorial offices concerned and others took place upstream to present the project, ”insists those around Matignon. As for the selection criterion according to which a media must have a “fact-checking” section for at least two years to join “Désinfox”, it could be brought to evolve.
