Moral and Civic Education (EMC) - The Ban on Conspiracy Sites and Profiles

Extract

[...] To conclude, the question of whether to ban conspiracy sites and profiles raises a complex and passionate debate. I am in favor of banning these sites and profiles, but it is essential to take precautions to avoid the pitfalls of censorship and to protect freedom of expression and thought. The phenomenon has always existed, but it has gained momentum with social networks. The government has an important role to play in this fight by legislating, condemning, and protecting society. In the meantime, we must document and inform ourselves as widely and rigorously as possible. [...]

[...] For example, the conspiracy theory that vaccines are dangerous and are used to control the population has led some people to refuse to get vaccinated, thus contributing to the spread of dangerous diseases such as Covid 19. Furthermore, although there is no exact figure on the number of conspiracy sites, a study conducted by New York University found that conspiracy theories were present on more than 10% of health-related websites. Secondly, these sites also represent," a risk for democracy. In fact, they foster a sense of distrust among voters towards the political power. [...]

[...] They can therefore lead to a risk of radicalization, or distrust towards the state. Then, the motivations of those who create these false informations, can influence the opinion, change the course of an election, as shown by a series of six documentaries The Fabrication of the Lie » of France info. He explains how the leaders of the pro-Brexit campaign fabricated a lie from scratch; to influence the vote in favor of Brexit. The Cambridge Analytica company is accused of using the private data of 50 million Facebook users for political purposes, and this played a 'crucial' role in the vote in favor of Brexit. [...]

[...] The President of the Republic has also asked a commission on 'The Enlightenment in the Digital Age' to produce a report on disinformation and conspiracy theories. From these works, he draws the need to « to further instill in children the spirit of method in the face of the« collapse of all relation to the truth, also to fight against « the algorithmic confinement built by the giants of the Web, which leads each to remain confined to a bubble on social networks. [...]

[...] These sites accused of spreading hate speech, false information, and conspiracy theories therefore represent a risk for those who use social networks to inform themselves. According to an article by the Canopée network, A Ipsos study, conducted in May 2014 on a panel of 1,500 individuals aged 15 to 65, highlighted that 20% of the French believe in the current existence of the Illuminati, who would gather the main leaders of the planet. According to several studies, this proportion reaches more than a third of high school students. [...]