France Intensifies Fight Against Foreign Disinformation as US Pulls Back

As the Trump administration dismantles several U.S. government mechanisms designed to combat foreign disinformation campaigns, France is moving in the opposite direction, strengthening its efforts to identify and counter propaganda from foreign powers.

French officials have recently emphasized their commitment to fighting disinformation, viewing it as a critical national security issue. “Fighting disinformation is a topic that we’ve invested a lot in recent years,” said Eléonore Caroit, a senior official in the French foreign ministry. “It has become clear now that this is one of the major threats that we’re facing in terms of national security sovereignty.”

The divergent approaches between the two allies highlight broader geopolitical shifts in how democratic nations are responding to information warfare. During the Biden administration, the United States and France collaborated closely on countering disinformation, including joint efforts to expose Russian attempts to undermine the Paris Olympics last year.

However, the Trump administration has rapidly begun dismantling parts of the U.S. government that previously warned the public about foreign influence operations. This includes eliminating the FBI team dedicated to this work and reducing the capacity of intelligence community centers that track attempts by adversarial nations to manipulate U.S. elections.

Many American conservatives have expressed concerns that the Biden administration used accusations of foreign influence to undermine legitimate conservative voices, portraying Republican arguments as Russian-backed propaganda. This sentiment has contributed to the current administration’s pullback from disinformation countermeasures.

Meanwhile, French authorities have continued their proactive stance. They recently suggested Russia was behind incidents where pigs’ heads were placed near mosques in the Paris area, apparently designed to provoke unrest. “It was done purposely so that people would react and think that it was some sort of Islamic attack, or some sort of anti-Muslim attack,” Caroit explained. “So there really is a manipulation of fact.”

The French government has taken concrete steps, including launching “French Response” this fall—a program in which the foreign ministry and French diplomats actively call out disinformation and foreign influence campaigns. France has also banned Kremlin-backed media outlets Russia Today and Sputnik.

However, much of France’s strategy focuses on education and media literacy. Caroit emphasized the importance of helping children, particularly in elementary schools, develop skills to determine the origins of information they encounter. This approach acknowledges the changing media landscape, with Caroit noting, “Today, 70 percent of our youth are using social networks for their primary, if not only, source of information.”

France’s approach is not without domestic critics. Far-right parties, including Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, have echoed arguments similar to U.S. Republicans, suggesting that efforts to combat foreign propaganda actually serve to silence populist or conservative voices. Le Pen has long criticized France’s 2018 “fake news” law, arguing it leads to indirect censorship.

French officials counter such criticism by insisting they are not suppressing speech but rather enhancing transparency. “We’re not preventing anyone from stating an opinion, but we just want to ensure that people know the source of the information that they’re getting,” Caroit said.

While Russia has been the primary focus of these efforts, French authorities acknowledge that multiple countries have attempted to sow dissent or influence public debate within France. Defending the information space, according to Caroit, is “at the very core of democracy” because it impacts elections and citizens’ trust in institutions.

As global approaches to combating disinformation continue to diverge, France appears committed to its path, with Caroit acknowledging the differences with the U.S. approach: “With your friends and allies, you’re able to say where you disagree or take a different approach… We’re not judging or commenting on it, but we just have a slightly different approach.”