A historic step in the fight against misinformation on climate change: these days, the highest administrative court confirmed an unprecedented sanction in France against CNews, the news channel of billionaire Vincent Bolloré.
The Council of State has in fact confirmed the sanction imposed by the Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority (Arcom) on CNews, dating back to July 2024, for the dissemination of uncontradicted climate denial statements on air.
In August 2023, the economist Philippe Herlin he stated that “Anthropic climate warming is a lie, a conspiracy“For this reason, the Television Regulatory Authority (Arcom) had fined the television network €20,000 in July 2024.
Eva Morel, general secretary of the association QuotaClimatstated that this ruling represents a “decision we expected.” Since 2022, the association has filed as many as 26 complaints against CNews.
The fact that justice recognizes the denial of the human role in climate warming as a crime marks a historic turning point in the fight against climate disinformation, Morel underlined, hoping that similar sentences will be issued in the future, accompanied by heavier financial sanctions, to increase the deterrent effectiveness against disinformation.
This is undoubtedly a legal intervention that cannot fail to mark a fundamental stage in tackling climate disinformation, especially when it comes from influential communication channels. The challenge is not only about countering false information, but also about creating a regulatory system that protects the public’s right to receive truthful and scientifically accurate information on climate change.
The ruling not only recognizes the severity of scientific denial about climate change, but also sends a loud and clear message to all media and communications channels: climate misinformation has legal consequences. The fine to CNews for broadcasting unverified and uncontradicted climate-sceptic statements live is a victory for all those who, like us, have been fighting for years for responsible and informed communication on environmental issues. While the specific case concerns a single broadcaster, it represents a universal signal to anyone attempting to downplay or distort scientific evidence on climate change.
In a historical moment in which the fight against climate change is crucial, scientific truth cannot be questioned by those who have access to highly visible platforms.
The hope is that this sentence can serve as an example, pushing other countries to follow France’s example and creating a domino effect that reduces as much as possible the space for denialist voices that risk slowing down global efforts to fight global warming.
