A great fight is underway against false information that people divulge in bad faith. But what should we know about fake news? This will be the subject of our development.
Fighting fake news
The legislative arsenal is not completely empty: French law prohibits the publication of fake news in several specific situations. You can see his response here. Article 322-14 of the Penal Code criminalizes the dissemination of false information with the aim of making people believe that a terrorist attack has taken place, Article 224-8 of the Penal Code criminalizes the dissemination of false information with the aim of endangering the safety of aircraft and Article 495-3-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code criminalizes the dissemination of false information with the aim of influencing the actions of companies.
Article L97 of the Electoral Code criminalizes false news if it "surprises or distracts voters". François Fillon decided to attack Le Canard enchaîné on this basis. Finally, Article 27 of the press law of July 29, 1881, amended by the decree of September 19, 2000, states that "the publication, dissemination or reproduction of false news, false or falsified documents or documents falsely attributed to third parties, by any means whatsoever, if they disturb or are likely to voluntarily disturb public order, is punishable by a fine of € 45,000.
What is the effect?
The main question is whether fake news influences elections or whether its impact is stronger than political strategies and tactics. This is a question as old as democracy and the media, which were born together in the 19th century: who shapes public opinion and thus elections? The media (and now social media with their fake news) or politicians? Historians and sociologists have long shown that the influence of the media on public opinion is weak, as is the influence of rumors and other lies (6), unless they are taken up and used by politicians. For example, the war of 1870 was not caused by the Ems dispatch itself, but by nationalist lobbies and politicians who exploited it. There are many historical examples