"In our contemporary societies, each crisis, each major event generates its own grid for reading compoist", poses Jérémie Peltier. And the coronavirus epidemic is no exception, according to the director of studies at the Jean-Jaurès Foundation, who coordinated a study on "fake news" around the infection. According to this survey, more than a quarter of French people believe that the coronavirus was manufactured in the laboratory.
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"Lots of screens, and lots of social networks"
According to the specialist, the epidemic lends itself particularly to intoxication, in particular because of the confinement imposed on the population. "The fact that individuals are at home, consuming a lot of screens, and a lot of social networks ... We have all the ingredients for conspiracy to work," he points to Europe 1.
The Ifop study coordinated by Jérémie Peltier, published last weekend, thus shows a fairly small gap between the share of French people who think that the coronavirus was designed by scientists - accidentally or voluntarily - and the share of population who share this opinion in the United States (29%).
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"The plot is different from the good critical mind"
However, "all the scientists in the world work and are interested in this genome, and today, everyone knows that it is not a virus made in the laboratory - as it may have been in the past , it is not a question of denying that ", underlines the director of studies of the Jean-Jaurès Foundation.
But "the plot is different from good critical thinking," he continues. "A conspiracy theory is having a paranoid view of life. It is considering that a group of people is pulling the strings and that someone is going to take advantage of the situation."
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"Marine Le Pen responds to its electorate"
Among the French adhering to the thesis of a manufacture of the Covid-19 in the laboratory, "we have no different audiences from what we usually see" in the investigations around conspiracy theories, explains Jérémie Peltier, who cites "the youngest", "the poorest social categories", and "supporters of the National Rally".
The executives of this party, including its president, do not hesitate to relay these theses. "It responds to historical data from the National Front, then the National Rally, which has always sought to show, for 30 or 40 years, that there was opacity behind health crises", points out the specialist. "When Marine Le Pen says that doubt is allowed, she answers to her base, she answers to her electorate."
An impact on compliance with public policies?
Is it then useful to try to fight against these "fake news", when the fight can seem lost in advance? Yes, according to Jérémie Peltier. "I think it makes sense, I even think it's very important," he replies, warning against theses that are already particularly well rooted.
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"We have not succeeded in stemming the spread of conspiracy theories around the Covid-19. They have an incomparable visibility compared to other more classic and older theories," he said. "Conspiracy theories can undermine the confidence that is necessary for people to abide by public policies championed by government. Demonstrating pedagogy is very important in building consensus."