Disinformation in France: A Strategy of Information Warfare in the Digital Age
Dezinformace ve Francii: Strategie informační války v digitální době
diploma thesis (DEFENDED)
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Permanent link
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11956/187319Identifiers
Study Information System: 259547
Collections
- Kvalifikační práce [17632]
Advisor
Referee
Scotto, Thomas
Faculty / Institute
Faculty of Social Sciences
Discipline
International Master in Security, Intelligence and Strategic Studies (IMSISS)
Department
Department of Security Studies
Date of defense
21. 9. 2023
Publisher
Univerzita Karlova, Fakulta sociálních vědLanguage
English
Grade
Good
Keywords (Czech)
Disinformation in France: A Strategy of Information Warfare in the Digital AgeKeywords (English)
disinformation, political elections, democracy, informational warfare, France, polarisation, radicalisation, discourse analysis, far-right movementsPolitical elections are a fertile ground for disinformation campaigns to prosper as have shown studies on Brexit and the 2016 US elections. The 2022 presidential French elections took place in a particular setting due to the social and political context marked by the rise of far-right parties and movements as well as the succession of crises such as the 2015 terrorist attacks, 2018 yellow vests movement, the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. This context and the health crisis in particular have given a new lease of life to far-right movements. Indeed, they spread disinformation, mainly on social media, on the pandemic and fuelled anti-system feelings to advance their agenda. In this context, the far-right political candidate to the 2022 elections, Éric Zemmour, a famous polemicist, thrived and managed to impose himself in the national political landscape. He did so notably by using discursive practices and his media presence. As a result, there has been a banalisation of far-right rhetoric and conspiracy theories in society. This has two major consequences: first, the undermining of democratic and electoral processes and second, the risk of a resurgence of domestic terrorism. Therefore, disinformation is a threat for democracies as they exacerbate social tensions and divisions which can...