Last Friday, out of curiosity, I wanted to virtually attend the press briefing on the tuition fees that will be imposed on future students who will come to study in English in our universities.
The press release said that journalists who wanted to attend the event had to register. What I have done. What was my surprise to be told ten minutes later that I had to go to the Facebook pages of the two ministries concerned, that of the French Language and that of Higher Education.
However, I no longer have a Facebook account.
I wrote to the press officers again, and they confirmed to me that this was the only way for journalists who could not be there to take part in this press conference.
This situation is completely absurd! On the one hand, governments say that we must wage a merciless fight against these digital giants who oppose the entry into force of the Online News Act (C-18) and, other, we continue to feed the monster that is crushing Canadian media and destroying our cultural identity.
There is something wrong with this matter!
This carelessness of the political community was also observed when Québec solidaire refused to stop its advertising placements with Meta during the recent by-election in Jean-Talon.
And can I tell you about the hosts (from public and private radio and television) who constantly send us to their show’s Facebook page so that we can register for a competition or obtain information?
On this subject, you often write to me to tell me that you are disappointed at no longer being able to share articles from La Presse on Facebook. You also ask me what you can do to help us. Nothing stops you from creating a buzz around a report or column by inviting your “friends” to come and read the result.
Something like: “It’s really worth reading Francis Vailles’ column this morning in La Presse! » (Don’t thank me, Francis!)
But back on topic !
This habit of broadcasting press events on Facebook has taken off greatly during the pandemic. It was a practical and easy way. Several organizations and levels of government have maintained this way of doing things, despite the crisis currently shaking the media world.
Don’t you feel like we’re going in circles? While we do one thing and its opposite, the Meta bosses laugh under their breath as they see us waging a disorganized war that suffers from a lack of solidarity.
We must take this situation very seriously and not wait for another newspaper’s obituary or the mutilation of a newsroom. There are habits to break, actions to take that must go beyond a simple day of boycotting Facebook.
When I see the Prime Minister of Canada using Instagram, owned by Meta, to announce his separation, I tell myself that there is a lot of work to be done. Why didn’t Justin Trudeau relay a good old press release written by a public relations firm?
By wanting to be of one’s time, one ends up killing one’s time.
I made the decision to leave Facebook on Saturday, August 12 at 8:30 a.m. I got up and told myself that I couldn’t feel sorry for the Metro newspapers (the subject of my column that day). , denounce the attitude of Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and continue to feed this beast that is strangling us.
So it was with regret that I left my 5,000 Facebook “friends” without saying a proper goodbye. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to those who think I “blocked” them.
It’s a shame, because I really liked discussing serious or trivial subjects with this community of people who looked like me. Some people will get bored of my photos of hideous Christmas trees.
But hey, I had to be consistent with my ideas.
Since patience is not one of my virtues, I got angry and finally pressed the “delete account due to death” button. Ten seconds later, panic set in!
I imagined a photo of my face surrounded by a blurred halo next to an armful of white roses with the words “Mario Girard: 1961-2023”. I especially imagined my mother choking on her coffee when she read this announcement.
A friend immediately reassured me: “Don’t worry, closing the Facebook page of a deceased person is extremely complicated. Proof of death must be sent. »
You see, even in death, Facebook still wants to have you as a friend!
