French President Emmanuel Macron said social media has abandoned “informational neutrality”, a phenomenon that is undermining democracy in this “time of crisis”.
Macron argued that the foundations of democracy, which are free thought, independent media and truthful information, are eroding due to the way people now consume information, especially through social media.
“We cannot form a free opinion or vote freely if we don’t know how to establish a proper relationship with facts and with a political landscape that is free from manipulation,” he told a conference on October 29.
“In [western] countries like ours, we used to think this was a given, that the media were independent and protected by law. That’s no longer the case. We have allowed our informational infrastructure to drift away,” he added.
Macron accused social media of radicalising young minds, saying: “A young French person who goes on TikTok and searches for the word ‘Islam’ will, by the third suggested video, be exposed to Salafist content.”
Salafism promotes strict adherence to early Islamic teachings and lifestyles, rejecting modern interpretations. It is often described as a fundamentalist or puritan movement within Islam.
Macron went on to single out US billionaire and X owner Elon Musk.
The French President argued that Musk had “openly engaged in political and reactionary activism on a global scale,” turning X into a platform that amplifies far-right talking points.
“I challenge you,” Macron said, “open X in France today: if you don’t immediately come across far-right content, it’s because you’re poorly organised. You’ll see far-right material, from France or from abroad.”
He also accused foreign powers of exploiting X to destabilise western democracies, claiming that “the biggest buyers of fake accounts on X are the Russians, who use them to undermine Europe’s democratic systems”.
For Macron, the problem goes deeper than Musk alone.
The President argued that the algorithms driving modern platforms reward outrage over reason, pushing anger, fear and division because those emotions keep users scrolling and advertisers paying.
In doing so, he warned, the link between truth, public debate and democracy itself has been corrupted.
“The people who inform us and the channels through which we get our information are no longer independent media,” Macron lamented. “The result is confusion.”
The remarks come as France faces its own journalistic credibility crisis.
A scandal erupted after secret recordings surfaced in September of Socialist Party officials meeting with senior journalists from State-owned broadcasters to discuss campaign strategies for the 2026 municipal and 2027 national elections. That reignited concerns over the politicisation of public media in the country.
Macron’s latest speech was part of the Paris Peace Forum, where 29 countries, including 15 European Union member states, signed a declaration pledging to strengthen “information integrity” and support “independent media”. That would be through multilateral bodies such as the International Fund for Public Interest Media and the Forum on Information and Democracy.
Macron’s word echoed those of co-president of the French National Digital Council, Gilles Babinet, who warned in June that social media “in their current forms are not compatible with democracy”.
Co-President of the French National Digital Council, Gilles Babinet, has warned that social media “in their current forms are not compatible with democracy”. https://t.co/Jd7ZhuZlcX
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) June 3, 2025
