Culture, a Vital Tool in the Fight Against Disinformation
A Roubaix Debate Night hosted by the IED and MoDem
11.06.2025
Culture as a Bulwark Against Disinformation in Democratic Societies
A Roubaix Roundtable Discussion on Democracy, Culture, and Digital Literacy
On June 11, a roundtable discussion was held in Roubaix, France, bringing together elected officials, academics, and cultural leaders to examine the critical role of culture in countering disinformation and irrational beliefs. The Institute of European Democrats (IED), along with the Democratic Movement (MoDem) organized the event with speakers including Frédéric Lefebvre (regional councillor and cultural affairs deputy mayor), historian Mathilde Desjonquères, Alice Bernard-Montini (president of Young European Democrats), and Olivia Leboyer (political scientist).
The Digital Challenge to Democracy
In an era of rapid technological change, disinformation has become a strategic weapon. Unlike misinformation (false information shared unintentionally), disinformation is deliberately constructed to deceive. From Russia's reframing of the Ukraine conflict to American political polarization, authoritarian actors exploit algorithmic bubbles and societal anxieties to undermine democratic institutions. As Hannah Arendt warned: "In a world incomprehensible... masses had reached a point where they believed in everything and nothing simultaneously, thinking all was plausible and nothing was true."
Culture as Antidote
Rather than surrendering to despair, participants emphasized that culture - properly accessible and mediated - offers powerful resistance to manipulation. Museums, libraries, and public spaces cultivate critical thinking and create opportunities for genuine dialogue. Crucially, cultural access must be democratized. Pierre Bourdieu's theory of cultural reproduction reminds us that without active mediation through schools, associations, and libraries, many feel culturally illegitimate and excluded.
Initiatives like Sunday library hours, interactive museum experiences, and tech literacy breakfast programs in Roubaix, along with regional cultural bridges such as the Loir-et-Cher schemes, demonstrate that cultural engagement thrives when barriers - psychological and physical - are lowered. Learning, like cooking, requires practice and guidance.
A European Perspective
The European Union remains a frequent target of eurosceptic disinformation. Programs like Erasmus and Arte cultural platforms foster cross-border understanding and inoculate against "othering." AI and digital literacy must be embraced and regulated - not feared or rejected - as tools for creative expression when properly governed at the European level.
Conclusion
The Roubaix discussion underscored a vital truth: culture is not an elite luxury but an essential democratic infrastructure. Fighting inequality of opportunity requires dismantling barriers to cultural participation. By combining rigorous scholarship with accessible experience - whether through library visits, museum dialogues, or digital literacy programs - democracies can build resilience against manipulation and foster the critical thinking societies desperately need.
