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CNews (French pronunciation:[senjuz]; stylised as CNEWS, formerly i>Télé) is a French free-to-airopinion channel[1][2][3] launched on 4 November 1999 by Groupe Canal+. It provides 24-hour national and global news coverage. It is the second most watched news network in France, after BFM TV and before LCI and France Info.
i>Télé was renamed CNews on 27 February 2017. Since this change, it has taken a conservative editorial stance,[4][5][6] and is often compared to the American TV channel Fox News.[7] It has been repeatedly warned by French regulators for its failure to honestly and rigorously report news to the public. Due to these infractions, it was fined €200,000 by the French audiovisual regulatory body in 2021.[8]
The channel is under the control of the media proprietor and business magnate Vincent Bolloré, who has been accused of interfering with the editorial choices of the CNews.[9]
According to satirical and investigative media Le Canard Enchaîné and leftist activist group Sleeping Giants France, CNews, owned by Groupe Bolloré and Vincent Bolloré, clearly supports conservative and far-right journalists, who are promoting hate speech. Éric Zemmour, in particular, was condemned on 17 September 2020 for inciting racial hatred.[11]
CNEWS is also sometimes criticised for lack of viewpoint diversity, as most of the channel's contributors espouse views of the right-wing or are affiliated with the far-right.[12][13][14]
Given its promotion of ideas of the French far right, as well as for broadcasting fake news and conspiracy theories,[15][16][17][18] the channel has been described as a French version of Fox News.[19][20]
CNews was warned by the French regulatory body Arcom in May 2022 for its failure to respect its "obligation to honesty and rigor in the presentation and treatment of the news". This warning, due to statements made by Ivan Rioufol [fr], followed a record €200,000 fine levied against the channel the previous year. This fine was the result of recidivism by employee Éric Zemmour whose statements had led to previous warnings.[8]
On 13 February 2024, after a case lodged by Reporters Without Borders (RWB), the Conseil d'État ordered CNews to better respect journalistic standards and diversity.[21] The February order by the Conseil d'État was followed by an intense disinformation campaign of hate speech against RWB. In July 2024, an investigation by RWB traced what it believed was the source of the disinformation campaign. This included a fake website pretending to be run by RWB hosted on a server hosting "Fan de CNews", a fansite supporting CNews. The website was run by what RWB states is a disinformation agency called Progressif Media, hosted at Bolloré's corporate group Vivendi. The main investigator, Arnaud Froger, stated that Progressif Media used "counterfeiting, concealment, cybersquatting [and] trolling" as disinformation techniques against RWB.[21]
