Episode 4: Narratives surrounding the French Presidential elections

With the upcoming French presidential elections, we held a special episode of our Zooming in on Hate podcast. Dare to be Grey’s Hannah Richter and Textgain’s Lydia El-Khouri joined Xavier Brandao to find out more about the narratives surrounding the election, especially online. 

Xavier Brandao is the co-founder of the #jesuislà collective, which counters online hate and disinformation. He works as the Network Development Officer for I Am Here International and has also created a website which lists common prejudices and misconceived ideas that can be encountered online. 

This podcast delves into the current trends we are seeing online in France, identifying particular hateful narratives. We discuss the impact of the war in Ukraine and foreign influence, especially that of Russia. We hear how the volunteers of I Am Here International are debunking disinformation, and finally, we end on a positive note, where Xavier explains how he would try to encourage the silent majority to speak out. Take a listen now.