The French president wishes to avoid miscommunication

Since the arrival of Emmanuel Macron back in May 2017, the veracity of the information disseminated by the media has become a priority for the French government due to the fact that the Head of State was victim of fake news during his presidency campaign.

For this reason, in his speech to the press during the first week of January, Macron announced a law against fake news, which seeks to strengthen legislation on this issue and ensure the accuracy of the information that is being provided to citizens through the media.

The president pointed out that said fake news are a threat to liberal democracies because it can affect the results of citizen participation in the election of their leaders. For this reason, Macron said that this law will only apply during electoral periods in order to avoid miscommunication.

Although Macron was not hinting towards a specific media outlet, it is important to highlight the criticisms of the interference of the Russian media (Russia Today and Sputnik) because the French leader described them as organs of influence of the Russian regime in France.

What does it consist of?

In order to cover the media by which fake news is normally disseminated, the authorities that are in charge of regulating the audiovisual sector will have greater freedom to control foreign media, which, according to Macron, are the ones that represent the most negative influence.

Also, digital platforms must guarantee transparency in the content they distribute through their web pages and applications making the source public and who controls it.  

The judicial system will be improved and made more effective to report fake news in such a way that a sanction can be generated, including shutting down certain websites.

Latin American Post | Tatiana Restrepo

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