A vial used for research on the vaccine against the coronavirus.
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JOHN CAIRNS / UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD / AFP
False information about the coronavirus has exploded this year on the internet.
Based on the work done by its analysts, the NewsGuard organization is publishing a report on Monday that lists the news sites that have most contributed to stimulating deceptive conversations about Covid-19.
“These sites have not all published absolutely false information on the pandemic, but by publishing unfounded or misleading allegations, they are the ones that have had the most impact on this infodemic,” explains Chine Labbé, co-author of this report.
Origin of Covid-19, false treatments against the virus, conspiracy theories concerning the vaccine ... False information concerning the coronavirus has exploded this year on the Internet.
At the end of 2020, the company NewsGuard - which rates the reliability and credibility of news sites on the basis of several criteria - publishes a report which lists the most influential French-speaking peddling sites, and those who have done the most to stimulate deceptive conversations about Covid-19, building on the work done by its analysts throughout the year.
"The sites that we have listed have not all published absolutely false information on the pandemic, but by publishing unfounded or misleading allegations, they are the ones that have had the most impact on this infodemic," says China Labbé. , co-author of the report published on Monday.
“Although NewsGuard also pointed to sites on the left and the far left, many of the sites on this list lean heavily to the right.
This seems to suggest that far-right misinformers have been more effective in attracting readers and generating engagement online on the subject of the pandemic, ”said the Head of Europe at NewsGuard.
FL24.net
It is the site that has done the most to stimulate deceptive conversations about Covid-19.
It is a far-right site that inserts opinions into news articles picked up on other sites to advance its anti-immigration and nationalist point of view.
For example, in January 2020, Fl24.net published a misleading article on the Wuhan coronavirus epidemic titled “Conspiracy or Truth?
Was the Wuhan coronavirus created in a military laboratory?
The article quotes an Italian journalist, Paolo Liguori, who claims that the virus may have been created in a military laboratory in Wuhan.
RiposteLaique.com
It is a far-right anti-Islam site that regularly posts conspiracy theories and unproven allegations to support its views.
A March 2020 article titled "Coronavirus: Simple and Practical Recipes", for example, promoted an ineffective treatment for the coronavirus, suggesting that readers drink a mixture of magnesium chloride and water.
“Contrary to what some skeptical scientists claim, magnesium chloride (…) works perfectly and we get convincing results,” said the article.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
LesMoutonsRebelles.com
It is an anonymously managed site that often relays false information, including conspiracy theories about the Covid-19 pandemic.
For example, a January 2020 article titled "2019-nCoV virus: the bioweapon trail is becoming clearer?
", Reproduced on the pro-Russian site Strategika51.org, wrongly asserts that" according to indications gathered by Chinese sources, the replication of the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV (...) (is) the result of a transfer of a highly sensitive biological material between two countries (…) as part of an economic, commercial and financial war strategy ”.
LeCourrier-du-Soir.com
This site, devoted to French and international news, has published false and unfounded allegations.
For example, in a March 2020 article titled "Coronavirus is American Weapon of War to Destroy China and Here is Proof", Sheikh Dieng claims the virus was intentionally designed as a biological weapon to sabotage the Chinese economy .
“There is no doubt that it was introduced in Wuhan with the sole objective of weakening the economic power of a country that has become, in recent years, a real threat to the West, especially the United States. United, ”he explains.
FranceSoir.fr
It is the site of a former major national newspaper which was relaunched online in 2015, and which published unsubstantiated claims about the pandemic.
For example, in June 2020, France-Soir published an interview with Silvano Trotta, a French YouTuber who promoted a mixture of two antibiotics called macrolides and C3G to treat Covid-19.
Silvano Trotta, who relayed conspiracy theories on the September 11 attacks, affirms in this interview with France-Soir that a general practitioner by the name of Sabine Paliard Franco "successfully cured all his patients thanks to this mixture of antibiotics ”.
NS2017.wordpress.com
It is a far-right site whose funding is not revealed, and which relays anti-immigration views and denied conspiracy theories.
It is one of the most shared misinformation sites of 2020, and like many others it has proven to be a multi-repeat offender, riding every new wave of poisoning.
For example, in April 2020, the site published an article suggesting that 5G mobile phone technology is linked to the virus causing Covid-19.
The article also argues that American billionaire George Soros, a democratic philanthropist, owns the Wuxi Pharma Lab in Wuhan "where Covid-19 has been developed and easily spread among the Chinese population".
NoSignalFound.fr
It is a site which frequently published articles containing false or misleading information, sometimes coming from sites relaying the propaganda of the Russian government.
For example, in February 2020, NoSignalFound.fr published an article titled "Coronavirus: Has a plan by China against the United States had the opposite effect?"
, Which was first published in English on the conspiratorial site HumanAreFree.com.
Without citing any evidence or sources, the article states that "Indian scientists (...) discovered that the coronavirus was designed with insertions similar to those of HIV-AIDS".
ReseauInternational.net
This site regularly shares conspiracy theories and misinformation on international news, often from sites known to have published propaganda and disinformation.
For example, a March 2020 article titled "The Coronavirus: Produced by Chance or Specifically Used as a Weapon," shows a video from the Swiss far-right Kla.tv site, which often relays conspiracy theories.
This video promotes claims by two virologists that the virus likely came from a Chinese lab, where it was genetically modified.
Breizh-Info.com
It is an extreme right-wing site which mainly covers Breton news and which has promoted false allegations and intoxication, in particular on the pandemic.
In August 2020, the site published an article entitled "Covid-19: Geneticist Alexandra Henrion-Caude gives explanations".
This article contains a YouTube video produced by TV Libertés, in which the French geneticist, former research director at Inserm, wrongly claims that the vaccine against Covid-19 was forcibly administered to human "guinea pigs" in Africa from South.
Alexandra Henrion-Caude also suggests in the video that the virus that causes Covid-19 was created on purpose.
Media-Press.
info
This site, also far-right, has disseminated false allegations, in particular on health topics such as vaccines and the coronavirus pandemic.
For example, an article from March 2020 states, without citing evidence, that it “is evident that the Covid-19 virus did not appear on its own.
It was synthesized by genetic mutation in the Wuhan research center ”.
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