We’re on the same side: it’s time to support the independent press
By Collectif
Published on the 28/09/2026, modify the 29/09/2026
Whilst the algorithms of the GAFAM companies are seeking, day by day, to gain ever greater control over our internet searches and, ultimately, over our choice of news sources and our free will, some thirty figures from the french independent press are calling on readers to defend media pluralism.
As a member of the Syndicat de la Presse Pas Pareille, signatory to this open letter, Inf’OGM supports and echoes this call. We would, however, like to point out that the editorial team at Inf’OGM prefers the term “algorithm factories” to the somewhat misleading term “artificial intelligence“. Indeed, as we have already highlighted in an article, “these computer factories require ever-larger servers, leading to increasingly problematic consumption of water and energy resources“, and their operations are very much directed by humans… so there is nothing artificial about them at alli .
Since this summer in France, our Google searches no longer link to sources. By processing millions of web pages, the search engine now provides us with an answer generated by “artificial intelligence” (AI). In doing so, Google disregards those who produce the information and appropriates the fruits of their labour. Whilst the biggest media players collude with the artificial intelligence giants, smaller players are ignored and find themselves rendered completely invisible. With AI, citizens are deprived of part of their free will. They no longer choose how they stay informed; “someone” chooses for them.
Google is just one example of how big tech companies exploit information and steer public debate. Before Google, Facebook had deliberately excluded the media from the suggestions made to users, deeming them too unprofitable commercially.
All this merely reinforces a phenomenon we know only too well: the monopolisation of news production by a select few, to the detriment of everyone else.
« Only you, our readers, can ensure that we are not rendered permanently invisible ».
Independent media outlets will never be led by a billionaire willing to lose tens of millions of euros a year simply to own a newspaper and the influence that comes with it. They rely solely on you. At a time when clarity in public debate and honesty in journalism must take precedence more than ever, when investigative journalism must prevail over deference, and when free media are needed to defend freedoms, we make this solemn and collective appeal to you.
Only you, our readers, can ensure that we are not rendered permanently invisible. This is not about defending our own little fiefdoms, but about the pluralism of viewpoints – which, ultimately, means democracy, freedom and equality. We are on the same side. Join us, share this message, donate, subscribe! The time is now.
The signatories:
La Presse libre, Coop médias, Arrêt sur images, Basta, Blast, Cerise la coopérative, La Déferlante, Le Média, Le Poulpe, Le Syndicat de la presse pas pareille, Les Jours, Les utopiques, L’Iceberg, L’Observatoire des multinationales, Marsactu, Mediacités, Mediapart, Next, Politis, Qui vive, Reflets, Reporterre, Rue89 Bordeaux, Rue89 Lyon, Rue89 Strasbourg, Socialter, Splann!, Vert.
ihttps://infogm.org/l-intelligence-artificielle-au-service-de-la-numerisation-des-genomes/
We need your help!
For over 25 years, Inf’OGM has been producing information, made freely available to everyone, on the artificialisation and appropriation of life (GMOs, NTGs, biotech, patents, etc.).
The monopolisation of a large share of public press subsidies by a few media groups reinforces the concentration of media ownership in the hands of a handful of businessmen. This concentration undermines the quality of information and democratic debate, which require a plurality of viewpoints.
In this context, alternative media outlets such as Inf’OGM, which receive no advertising revenue and provide information free of charge, need you – our readers – to continue to exist! Because, even when freely accessible, information comes at a cost.
Supporting Inf’OGM means working towards reliable, independent information on GMOs, biotechnology and seeds that is accessible to everyone.
