In the age of digital technology and social media, where information flows without borders and often without verification, Radio-Canada’s Les Décrypteurs have established themselves as a French-language reference in fact-checking and the fight against disinformation. Created in 2017, this journalistic initiative combines a website, audio clips, a television programme and teaching tools designed to help citizens tell true from false amid the flood of information swamping the web.
At the heart of Les Décrypteurs is a team of professional journalists who analyse, dissect and explain viral content circulating on social media and in the digital public space. Their primary mission is twofold: to help internet users untangle fact from fake news, and to shed light on the mechanisms that encourage the spread of fake news.
The team is also behind a weekly programme broadcast on ICI RDI, in which the journalists review some of the most shared or discussed stories of the week. They explain how this content spread, why it is misleading and what their analysis reveals about contemporary digital phenomena. This television format has helped popularise the fact-checking approach among a large French-speaking audience.
Beyond their articles and programmes, Les Décrypteurs are also innovating in education. Radio-Canada has developed an interactive chatbot, intended to guide users in learning good practices for spotting and countering disinformation. This tool offers personalised advice based on users’ answers to questions about their information consumption habits. It covers key notions such as the definition of fake news, identifying reliable sources, or recognising manipulated photos and videos, all essential skills in a complex media landscape.
This educational strand is complemented by a series of thematic workshops that allow young people, teachers and the general public to strengthen their critical thinking in the face of digital information. These workshops cover subjects ranging from understanding cognitive biases to detecting conspiracy theories or fake online promotions, offering concrete tools for navigating the information space with discernment.
At the institutional level, Les Décrypteurs form part of a broader Radio-Canada strategy to strengthen the reliability and transparency of information. The Canadian public broadcaster is thus involved in international initiatives, such as the Trusted News Initiative, an alliance of news organisations, social media platforms and technology companies that aims to identify and combat disinformation concerning, for example, national elections, the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 vaccines. In addition, Les Décrypteurs are recognised as a French-language member of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), which brings together the growing community of fact-checkers around the world and promotes demanding standards of journalistic accountability.
In a context where disinformation can not only mislead but also polarise societies and weaken democratic institutions, Les Décrypteurs play a crucial role. By making fact-checking accessible, understandable and useful for the public, they help develop and sharpen citizens’ critical eye, a major issue for the health of public debate in the digital age.
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/decrypteurs/site
M.N.C.
