Since his arrival at France Télévisions 7 years ago, Julien Pain has tracked down false information. The program “Vrai ou Fake” which he presents on France Info TV has dealt with “fake news” in the fields of Covid, the war in Ukraine and more recently climate change. On social networks, he is often taken to task by followers of conspiracy. At the microphone of François Beaudonnet, the journalist recounts his battle against what he calls a “tsunami” of disinformation.
The journalist from France Télévisions, specialist in the fight against false information, believes that the conspiratorial sphere is now very active in the field of global warming. These are the same people who called themselves antivax, then who questioned Western support for Ukraine in the face of Russia who are now swelling the ranks of climate skeptics.
On social networks, where Julien Pain is very present, particularly on Twitter, he has to deal with very aggressive behavior from accounts that hunt in packs and use all the same elements of language. The presenter of the show “True or Fake” nevertheless makes a good distinction between social networks, which are very violent, and the reality on the ground. He says in fact that he was never physically attacked when he went to a demonstration, for example.
A “tsunami” of misinformation
For Julien Pain, it is indeed a “tsunami” of misinformation, a “wave that hits us on the head” and against which journalists find themselves very powerless. One of the solutions, according to him, is to do media education in schools. The journalist often goes to schools. He also believes that, contrary to popular belief, it is not young people who are the most victims of false information, but rather adults, often elderly, who lock themselves into conspiratorial beliefs.
“At the info counter” is the first native (original) podcast of France Télévisions. In the form of a journalistic interview, an actor who produces public service television information — a major reporter, a cameraman, a presenter — comes to give himself up, tell, reveal the way he works. In a sound atmosphere of a coffee counter, he confides his doubts, his joys, but also his fears when he is on the ground or in the studio. Since May 2021, the podcast “At the info counter” also receives journalists from Radio France (France Inter, France Info, France Culture) at its microphone.
The series is produced by François Beaudonnet, editor-in-chief Europe, columnist for franceinfo (channel 27), senior reporter for France 2 and columnist for the program “Nous, les Européens” on France 3. Former correspondent in Rome and Brussels, he began on the radio where he presented the 1 p.m. news on France Inter.
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This episode was directed by Baptiste Blanc