Unacceptable, French National Institute of Cancer (INCa) wants to introduce censorship of information on cancers !

By qualifying as Fake news the doubts expressed regarding the benefits / risks balance of breast cancer screening, INCa is implementing the first act of a strategy that aims to censor sites of information on cancers.

The decennial strategy 2021-2030 to combat cancer includes as measure, the fight against Fake news. And, of course, INCa is the pilot of this action (see the excerpt of the document "Ten-year cancer control strategy_actions initiated in 2021-1.pdf" below).

In the context of this point « 1.2.3 Put in place a system to fight against Fake News », the intentions of the INCa are clear.
The INCa website states:
« A reactive device against fake news will be organized. It will allow to enlighten people in front of the controversies likely to concern the various In addition, without being limited to the field of cancer, the creation of a "CSA Health" type device (CSA is French acronyme of "Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel", French regulator of audiovisuel) will be studied, to implement rules for information in health, provided in a framework agreement with content hosts (media, social networks) to do a work of elimination of fake news identified by a college of experts. »

Everything is said; simply to read.

To enlighten people in the face of controversies that may concern screening. And then, any questioning of the interest of breast cancer screening is qualified as fake news, even if it is supported by sound scientific studies.

Create a device such as a "CSA Health" to implement rules and require that content hosts remove what INCa has qualified as fake news. If this is not censorship, it certainly looks like it !
Certainly in the statement, it is a "college of experts" who must designate the fake news and INCa will swear to us, hand on heart, that these experts will be chosen for their independence and their neutrality. But who could believe this promise when we see that INCa has been confusing information on screening with promotion of screening for years.

In May 2020, thirty editorial societies denounced a rubric on "Coronavirus fake news" launched by the government. These journalists argued that « The state is not the arbiter of information. » The site was removed a few days later. Obviously, the INCa did not learn the lesson.

Let us hope that scientists, doctors, journalists and all the citizens will mobilize to oblige INCa to abandon its project of censorship. As the journalists obliged the State to give up its project "Coronavirus fake news".

---

Dernière mise à jour le 13/11/2021