Emmanuel Macron on Thursday urged French diplomats to be “more reactive” on social media to better respond to attacks against France against public opinion, particularly in Africa.
“Our country is often attacked and is attacked in public opinion, by social networks and manipulations,” observed the French president, in a speech before the French ambassadors gathered at the Elysee.
“This is not about advertising”
This is particularly the case in Africa where “the Russian, Chinese or Turkish narrative” comes to explain to public opinion “that France is a country dedicated to neo-colonization and that installs its army on its soil”.
The answer goes first through a “policy of real association” with the target countries, but “I think that, collectively, we must be much more reactive, much more mobilized in social networks”, insisted the President of the Republic.
“This is not about making propaganda,” he argued, but about countering “anti-French propaganda” and “combating false narratives, false information and defending the reality of our action.”
“Today we suffer too much, we do not do enough,” Emmanuel Macron told the French ambassadors.
“It involves a strategy of influence and dissemination”
The Head of State, who called for “assuming a strategy of influence and influence for France”, urged “to take better advantage of the France Médias Monde network, which is absolutely key, which must be a strength for us”.
France Médias Monde brings together the France 24 news channel and RFI radio.
On social networks, France in particular has been the target of disinformation campaigns in Mali, in a context of diplomatic tensions between Paris and Bamako. Thus, in 2021, a lot of false information had circulated virally, regarding the alleged action of French troops in the country.
Source: BFM TV
