Report on the 2022 election campaigns: election to the presidency of the Republic and legislative elections
Introduction
During the first half of 2022, the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication (Arcom), created on January 1, 2022 from the merger of the French Superior Audiovisual Council (French Superior Audiovisual Council) and the High Authority for the distribution of works and the protection of rights on the Internet (Hadopi), ensured the strict application of texts governing the editorial coverage of election campaigns and the organization of official audiovisual campaigns for the presidential and legislative elections of 2022. In doing so, it has endeavored to guarantee plurality in the expression of candidates and their supporters.
Despite the pandemic and geopolitical context, which reduced the number of campaign events, Arcom's assessment of the coverage of these campaigns is positive. Generally speaking, the principles of fairness and equality applied in the audiovisual media to the interventions of candidates and their supporters were respected.
While radio and television once again demonstrated that they remain key players in the electoral debate and in informing the public, Arcom nevertheless notes that, unlike in 2017, circumstances did not allow for the organization of debates between the candidates in the run-up to the first round of the presidential election, as noted by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
In a media landscape undergoing constant development as a result of the use of digital media and the redefinition of the forms of political communication they give rise to, Arcom has also adopted a specific modus operandi with the operators of online platforms in order to deal with the phenomena of information manipulation during the election period.
Aware of the specific legislative and regulatory constraints weighing on audiovisual communication services (whose audience remains significant) in the exercise of their editorial responsibility during election periods, Arcom puts forward in this report several proposals for developments in the rules applicable to the presidential election, to better adapt the regulation of this ballot to changes in modern means of communication.
Report on the 2022 election campaigns: election to the presidency of the Republic and legislative elections
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- in french