France: Media freedom coalition condemns Vivendi’s disinformation campaign against Reporters Without Borders

ECPMF

18 July 2024

No Comments

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners strongly condemn the cyber disinformation campaign against the press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The attacks have been orchestrated by the Paris-based communications agency “Progressif Media”, whose minor stakeholder is the Vivendi Group, a French mass-media holding company controlled by media tycoon Vincent Bolloré. The MFRR stands in full solidarity with RSF and urges a swift and thorough investigation into the disinformation campaign.

 

On 4 July, RSF revealed a two-month investigation, which included information from an internal Progressif Media document entitled “Vivendi Report”. This document detailed attacks aimed at portraying the press freedom organisation as wanting to “change the French audiovisual landscape according to its vision of pluralism”, while positioning the Vivendi-controlled CNews channel as the only place in favour of freedom of expression, in a context where CNews is among the candidate media being examined for the renewal of its TNT frequency for 2025. According to RSF, the attacks were triggered by a decision of the Council of State on 13 February which ordered, at the request of RSF, that the French audiovisual and digital communications authority (ARCOM) improve its enforcement of the the independence and pluralism of Cnews, one of the most sanctioned French channels, along with C8.  

 

In the scope of its attacks on RSF,  Progressif Media used a method called “cybersquatting“, a malicious strategy of buying domains with names similar to RSF’s, to denigrate the press freedom organisation. Of the five domains bought, one was active and called “Sectarians without Borders”: this was a fake RSF site that the attackers had paid to be ranked highly by Google’s algorithm to spread the same orchestrated messages against RSF, including the creation of pre-prepared hate tweets that Internet users could select and post from their own X accounts. The site was taken down on 8 July, a few days after RSF exposed Vivendi’s attacks.

 

RSF’s investigation into the name, web server and real IP address of “Sectarians Without Borders” led RSF to identify similar IT characteristics of a number of existing sites, including two inactive domain names linked to Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the far-right National Front party (now Rassemblement National), and two active sites: “the CNews fan collective” and “The Corsairs of France”, which first promoted “Sectarians Without Borders” on X on 20 February and called on its 16,000 followers to “fight” against RSF through a defamatory video shared on X on 6 March. Meanwhile, discrediting comments about RSF have also been broadcast on Vivendi’s channels, including on Radio Europe 1, a station previously criticised by RSF for its alleged lack of editorial independence, respect for pluralism, and honest reporting since its takeover by Vivendi in 2021.

 

“Counterfeiting, concealment, cybersquatting, trolling, disinformation…these practices are not so recent, but this is the first time a company operating under French law has used these gangster methods to serve the interests of a French media group (Vivendi) [and] promote Cnews.  You cannot defend information and orchestrate a disinformation campaign at the same time,” said Arnaud Froger, head of the RSF investigation office, in conversation with the MFRR. According to Froger, the Vivendi group would have told RSF that it was unaware of practices described in the press freedom group’s investigation and recalled its minority stake in Progressive  Media.Vivendi did, however, acknowledge links between Progressif Media and Canal+, a major French TV channel owned by Bolloré.

 

More widely, the disinformation campaign against RSF comes in the context of a growing threat to media pluralism in France noted by independent observers. In a new report, the Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM), an annual study conducted by the Robert Schuman Centre, referred for the first time this year directly to “predatory strategies of media tycoons such as Vincent Bolloré”, highlighting the businessman’s alleged role in the growing influence of commercial interests and owners in media, arguing that this influence created a threat to media pluralism due to “oligopolistic control” and “the ensuing ideological polarisation” allegedly created by media outlets owned by Bolloré-controlled structures.

 

In this context, the MFRR stands in solidarity with RSF and all the organisations defending press and media freedom who are under pressure from the Vivendi group to silence their critical voices and to put forward those of the Bolloré programs. It is essential to resist intimidation in order to continue the fight against disinformation and for the right to freedom of expression, the cornerstone of democratic discourse.

 

Signed by

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

ARTICLE 19 Europe 

International Press Institute (IPI)

Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)

European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)

This statement was coordinated as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and candidate countries.

Read news by categories:

Related news

Feature

Call for the immediate release of journalist Furkan Karabay

Together with partners, ECPMF calls for the release of journalist Furkan Karabay, recognising that his detention is an unjust infringement on press freedom.

READ MORE
General

“If we, as journalists, are the ones able to deliver the truth, we are honoured to do so.” Azerbaijani journalist Islam Shikhali on the mass imprisonment of journalists, digital wiretapping and COP29

Azerbaijani journalist Islam Shikhali talks about mass surveillance, threats to press freedom, and the impact of COP29 in an exclusive interview.

READ MORE
Feature

Bosnia and Herzegovina: MFRR and SafeJournalists urgently call for stronger protection for journalist Nataša Miljanović Zubac

MFRR and SafeJournalists urge stronger protection for journalist Nataša Miljanović Zubac in Bosnia amid escalating threats and a culture of impunity.

READ MORE
Feature

Press freedom organisations condemn attacks on journalists during Bulgaria’s parliamentary elections

Press freedom organisations call for investigations into violence against journalists during Bulgaria’s parliamentary elections and urge for their protection.

READ MORE
Feature

Press freedom organisations demand protection for journalists in Georgia

Press freedom organisations call on Georgia to protect journalists amid attacks, election-related harassment, and barred entry for foreign reporters.

READ MORE
Feature

Partners of the Platform call on Irish authorities to continue to prioritise media freedom and better protect journalists

Press freedom organisations call on Ireland to reform defamation laws, implement anti-SLAPP measures, and ensure journalist safety amid rising legal threats.

READ MORE