The sad experience of Radio Mille Collines in Rwanda, which led to the genocide of the Tutsis, was analysed at length and even judged by the International Criminal Court. The judgement concludes that the media are responsible: ‘The power of the media to create and destroy fundamental human values comes with great responsibility. Those who control such media are accountable for its consequences.’ (Three Media Leaders convicted for Genocide-United Nations: https://unictr.irmct.org/en/news/three-media-leaders-convicted-genocide).
To hear more about this event, listen again to La Marche de l’Histoire on France Inter. (Radio Mille Collines le média génocidaire – France Inter: https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/la-marche-de-l-histoire/la-marche-de-l-histoire-07-avril-2014)
Some people look on in horror, for others it’s a miracle recipe for attracting an audience. Fear sells. (Le marketing de la peur – 300 mots: https://www.300mots.fr/blog/le-marketing-de-la-peur/). Fear creates a need for control and constant information. Fox News has been entertaining exaggerated or imaginary fears in the United States for twenty years. Since 2018, CNEWS has followed the same model by hiring and supporting Eric Zemmour, who has been convicted several times of inciting hatred. (CNews : la stratégie de la haine – Le Monde: https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2020/10/02/cnews-la-strategie-de-la-haine_6054492_3232.html). CNEWS, like Fox News, is distorting freedom of expression in order to convey an anxiety-provoking message that generates a large audience, even if the consequences are catastrophic.
Freedom of expression ends where the destruction of the foundations necessary for democracy, in particular tolerance, begins.
European Court of Human Rights fact sheet on hate speech.
Hate Speech – European court of human rights: https://www.echr.coe.int/documents/d/echr/fs_hate_speech_eng
These channels are private and 100% of their revenue comes from advertising spots. The NGO Sleeping Giants (Sleeping Giants France: https://sites.google.com/view/slpng-giants-fr/accueil), set up in 2016 in the USA, is prompting advertisers to stop buying on these channels on Twitter. More than 4,000 brands, including 1,100 in Europe, have already responded and stopped buying advertising space on these channels. 44 have agreed to boycott CNEWS, which has become unprofitable.
Let’s not allow misinformation, hatred and conspiracies to take hold. Legislation alone will not suffice. Let’s call on advertisers to cut off funding for hate.
Musk puts X/Twitter to work for Trump, Bezos has a film made about Melania Trump and censors the Washington Post, which he owns. Zuckerberg was very vindictive, explaining that his change in moderation is being done to free the Internet from left-wing bias. It’s a militant act.
Why Meta’s Fact-Checking Change Could Lead to More Misinformation on Facebook and Instagram – Time: https://time.com/7205332/meta-fact-checking-community-notes/
