Parents and teachers show his videos to teenagers, older people recognize him in airports. However, Farnell Morisset relies on facts rather than his opinions, and deals with complex subjects such as immigration, democracy or abortion. Meeting with an influencer who seeks to enlighten rather than convince.
“My goal is never for people to agree with me: I usually stop just before saying what my opinion is. Rather, I try to present my reasoning,” Farnell Morisset explained to us by videoconference from London.
Arrivé en Angleterre l’été dernier pour sa maîtrise à la London School of Economics, il a eu toutes les misères du monde à obtenir un compte de banque et une connexion internet. D’aucuns se seraient défoulés sur TikTok. Farnell, lui, a préféré en tirer une leçon d’humilité, racontée avec le sourire dans les rues de Londres : « Alors moi, que du respect pour les immigrants qui viennent s’installer au Québec. Et si jamais vous vous trouvez à vous dire : “Ben voyons, comment ça se fait qu’ils sont si mêlés ?”, rappelez-vous de moi. Et essayez d’être au moins aussi patient avec eux que j’espérerais que les gens le soient avec moi ici ! »
Partir de l’anecdotique pour mener au collectif est l’une de ses approches privilégiées. Dans l’une de ses nombreuses vidéos sur l’importance d’exercer son droit de vote, il illustre son propos avec un pot de jujubes et un défi classique : deviner le nombre de bonbons contenus dans le pot.
« La moyenne des montants devinés, généralement, tombe assez proche du montant exact, souligne Farnell. Chaque personne qui ne vote pas, c’est une tentative de moins d’arriver à la bonne réponse […] This is why it is a social duty to be informed and to vote. »
His videos, which he records on TikTok and broadcast on several platforms, are not a source of income, but “citizen engagement”, he explains, referring to his university studies in engineering, law and economics. .
The Quebec state spent a lot of money giving me certain training which allowed me to go and educate myself elsewhere, and I think I have a certain duty to share these things again.
Farnell Morisset
Farnell completed his primary, secondary and college education in English in Quebec, in the public system since his mother is of Irish ancestry. Part of his academic and professional career, at McGill University, then in a New York law firm, also took place in English. However, it is in French that he speaks most often on social networks, and attracts the majority of his audience.
However, it feeds another account, less known, in English. He presents the “social context of Quebec” on sometimes very controversial subjects. In particular, we can see him explaining the ban on religious symbols among judges, or reframing an English-speaking columnist on the French spoken in Quebec.
He sees himself as “a bridge”. As Quebec news is not always reported or explained in English “from a culturally French-speaking point of view”, the absence of context “can lead to misunderstandings”, he believes. “The language barrier is not strictly a question of translation, it is also a cultural question. »
An unexpected audience
When he addresses divisive subjects like abortion, “BS” or terrorism as a political and military strategy, it is never in a provocative tone, but from the angle of reflection.
“I neither mentioned the word Israel nor the word Palestine,” he pointed out to us regarding his mid-October video on terrorism. People are capable of making the connections themselves, but it’s not me who imposes the conclusions on them. That’s never my goal. »
Parents tell him that they show their teenagers his videos. A teacher even asked her to address an issue related to abortion.
If his initial goal was not to become “an educational tool for parents and teachers”, he finds himself “absolutely honored” and wants to prove himself “worthy of this trust”.
If you go back far enough in my videos, you will see that I sometimes swear a little more often. My mother is a teacher, and it would have been unthinkable for me to swear in front of her students. I have to accept that I’m no longer just a guy who talks to his friends on social media.
Farnell Morisset
With nearly 60,000 subscribers in French on TikTok, and a few thousand more on other platforms, he sometimes gets recognized in the street, in a bar or at the airport. “Don’t think I’m a star, but maybe once a week or every two weeks when I’m in Quebec. »And it’s not just young people. “The very first person who recognized me was a man who was probably in his 50s, which surprised me because at the time I was only on TikTok. It shows that there are people of all ages on social media. »
Who is Farnell Morisset?
Born in Quebec in 1988
Engineer graduated from Laval University, law degree from McGill University, master’s student at the London School of Economics and Political Science. A lawyer who is a member of the Bar of Ontario and the State of New York, he worked for nearly five years in the New York office of the Goodwin firm.
His videos in French on social, political and economic subjects are followed by more than 59,000 subscribers on his TikTok account. Eager to also offer a Quebec point of view in English, he feeds an English-speaking TikTok account followed by nearly 9,000 subscribers.