In France, disinformation is shared more than information on the networks

The trend is worrying.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, disinformation articles on the coronavirus have been shared much more, and therefore more read, on social networks than the content of major newspapers, according to a study carried out in France and Germany.

On Twitter and Facebook, French and German-speaking articles shared by media such as RT or Sputnik have more resonance than those of the daily

or the magazine

, according to this report from the Oxford Internet Institute.

The institute examined for three weeks the content generated by the main Russian and Chinese media, as well as by Iranian and Turkish media controlled by the state or closely linked to the regimes in power.

Conspiracy theories and the politicization of the virus

The study focused in particular on the Russian television channel RT, the news agency Sputnik, the television network China Global Television Network (CGTN), Radio Chine Internationale (CRI) and the news agency New China.

In their publications in French, German or Spanish, these media have "politicized the coronavirus by criticizing Western democracies, praising their countries of origin and promoting conspiracy theories about the origins of the virus", according to the report. 'institute.

The report measures user engagement, via the number of times a user shares or likes an article on Facebook, comments on it or retweets it on Twitter.

The study looks at the 20 most popular articles from each news organization between May 18 and June 5.

RT's French content scores an engagement average of 528 on Facebook and Twitter, and Chine nouvelle a score of 374, compared to 105 for

newspaper .

Content funded by foreign governments

In German, RT articles score 158 on Facebook and Twitter, compared to 90 for

.

“Most of the content in these media is fact-based.

But, especially if you look at the Russian media, they have an objective which is to discredit democratic countries,” Jonathan Bright, a researcher at Oxford, told AFP.

"The subtle thread of the general message is that democracy is about to collapse," he adds.

Previous research from the institute, published in April, had already highlighted the penetration of these media in English-speaking markets, revealing that some of their articles could achieve levels of engagement up to ten times higher than those of the BBC for example.

“A significant part of the content consumed on social networks is directly financed by foreign governments, notes Jonathan Bright, and it is not very clear to the reader that this is the case”.

Last week, China threatened to retaliate after a US decision to classify four of its media - China Central Television (CCTV), China News Service, People's Daily and Global Times - as “foreign diplomatic missions”.

These titles join China Global Television Network, Radio China International and New China, already designated by Washington as state-sponsored actors.

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