France Steps Up Fight Against Disinformation as U.S. Pulls Back, Official Says
A polling station in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, in 2022. The French government faces the same debates over foreign malign influence that have taken place in the United States. During the Biden administration, the United States and France collaborated closely, calling out Russian attempts to undermine the Paris Olympics last year. But the Trump administration rapidly began dismantling the parts of the government that warned the public about foreign campaigns. Photo by Andrea Mantovani for The New York Times
The New York TImes
The Trump administration has dismantled a number of U.S. government defenses against foreign disinformation campaigns. But the French government has been doubling down on its efforts to call out foreign propaganda efforts.
Some American conservatives believed the Biden administration tried to undermine, or even silence, Republican voices by falsely labeling conservative arguments as being pushed by Russia or another foreign power.
French officials said governments can call out malign influence campaigns at the same time as they protect speech, and they are trying to make the case with the public.
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