11:40 a.m. ET, April 25, 2018
Macron: "We must fight against the ever-growing virus of fake news"
French President Emmanuel Macron said "we must fight against fake news" — but not the kind President Trump talks about.
"We must fight against the ever-growing virus of fake news," he said.
Tackling "fake news" — hoaxes, rumors and other false claims spread on social media — has been a top issue for Macron this year. In January,
he announced France will enact legislation in 2018 to combat the spread of "fake news." The legislation will be used especially during election periods, Macron said.
"Without reason, without proof, there is no real democracy, because democracy is about true choices and rational decisions," Macron told Congress today.
This is not how President Trump uses the term "fake news."
After the 2016 election, President Trump
almost single-handedly turned the definition of "fake news" on its head. Among his supporters, "fake news" is now a catch-all criticism for any news that Trump doesn't like.
In January, a CNN analysis found that
more than once a day, on average, Trump has publicly assailed "fake news," "fake polls," "fake media," and "fake stories."