TL:DR – France’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Launches “French Response” X Account
• France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched the “French Response” X account in September 2023 to combat disinformation.
• The account has over 180,000 followers and targets misinformation from pro-Russian and US accounts.
• Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux stated France is shifting its strategy to actively fight disinformation.
• The account generates around 15 million impressions weekly and utilises humour and sarcasm in its engagements.
• Confavreux noted that the Digital Services Act aims to combat misinformation targeting European interests.
France’s ‘French Response’ uses memes and sarcasm to fight disinformation on X
France Launches “French Response” to Combat Disinformation
France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has launched an initiative named “French Response” to counter disinformation, using an official X account that employs humour, irony, and provocation. The account was created in September and has since gained more than 180,000 followers, primarily targeting disinformation from pro-Russian users and US accounts, which have increasingly targeted France.
The strategy marks a significant shift in France’s approach to handling disinformation, as stated by ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux. “The intuition was that you can’t win the information war if you don’t fight the battle. So we had to raise our voice,” Confavreux said, explaining that the ministry aims to actively combat foreign informational attacks.
Account Generates Significant Engagement
The “French Response” account generates approximately 15 million impressions weekly, utilising sarcasm and meme language against what it identifies as trolls and misinformation. One of its earliest posts countered a claim from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding Hamas, effectively showcasing a timeline that disproved the allegations in question.
Moreover, the account has defended the European Union’s investigations into X, addressing claims that these probes amount to censorship. “Judicial scrutiny should be a welcome spotlight, not something to run from,” it stated in a post that garnered more than 1 million views.
Controversy Surrounding Trolling Tactics
Experts like Ruslan Trad, from the Digital Forensic Research Lab, have warned about the potential consequences of employing trolling tactics within official diplomatic communications. Trad noted that this approach may blur the lines between democratic institutions and disinformation actors, risking the cultivation of public scepticism towards institutions amid increasing distrust.
Confavreux emphasised the importance of engagement over follower count, stating, “What counts is not so much the number of followers that ‘French Response’ accumulates, but the number of engagements.” The success of the account lies in its ability to reach individuals targeted by misinformation.