News from content creators… not without ethical issues

On TikTok and Instagram, more and more content creators are presenting daily news in short and dynamic videos. This new format, popular in France and the United States, is gaining followers in Quebec, but sometimes turns corners in terms of journalistic ethics, according to specialists.

Dix4 Info, launched in April by popular content creator Thien-An-Anthony Tran, better known online as Antho Tran, is the most successful in this niche in Quebec. This media’s accounts are followed by some 80,000 people on TikTok and 20,000 on Instagram.

Our mission is to inform the Quebec population, mainly on social networkssummarizes Antho Tran, who co-founded Dix4 Info with his partner Élisabeth and journalist Matteo Miceli.

We have noticed that many young people do not encounter the news on a daily basis because the channels to broadcast it reach them less. With the format we have, we manage to reach a wide range of Quebecers.

The formula is simple and effective: a person summarizes a piece of news on the screen, with an engaged tone. In the background, we see images – often taken from social networks, but also from press agencies, image banks and traditional media. At the top of the presenter, an advertising banner mentions that the production of this news is possible thanks to a sponsor.

In a way, it’s very classic. We report in the traditional way, by answering the questions where, when, [qui, quoi et pourquoi]explains Éric-Pierre Champagne, president of the Professional Federation of Journalists of Quebec (FPJQ), who was asked by - to react immediately to this format.

It is no coincidence that the videos are reminiscent of television presentations. Matteo Miceli, a journalism graduate from Concordia University and former video journalist for TVA Nouvelles, is responsible for researching, editing and narrating the news presented on camera.

However, Jordan Proust, lecturer in public communication and journalism at Laval University, feels unease about these videos: these accounts on social networks are only one other media transmission beltsometimes without mention of their sources, he emphasizes.

This is the opposite of what I tell my students to do, which is to go out into the field, meet the world, and immerse themselves in an environment.

The content of Dix4 Info is also rarely mentioning sourcessometimes disclose information copied and pasted from other media and don’t not always credit the content, whether texts, photos or videos, notes the man who is also a military journalist.

These elements contravene journalistic ethics and could potentially violate copyright, according to Céline Castets-Renard, full professor at the Faculty of Civil Law at the University of Ottawa and holder of the Canada Research Chair, international and comparative lawIA.

Content creator Antho Tran, who doesn’t necessarily label himself as news media at Dix4 Info, recognizes that its formula is not perfectand said to himself open to constructive criticism.

We are always looking to improve and be compliant. Every day, we try to develop processes so that there are no ethical violations on the platforms where we publish.

To illustrate a video on the derailment of a train in Longueuil, for example, we show an image of the unhinged wagons, captured by photojournalist Patrick Sanfaçon of The Press. A video of the scene, taken from the X account (ex-Twitter) of - journalist Pascal Robidas, is also used.

I don’t think it would fall under fair use. It would not meet the conditionsnotes Céline Castets-Renard. In the case of a short story, fair use allows the use of short excerpts from a copyrighted work without the permission of the copyright owner. Among other criteria, the source and provenance of the work must be mentioned.

In another Dix4 Info video, the news that Ukraine is authorized to use American missiles is discussed, without mentioning where the information came from. Even with a subscription to press agencies, the source must be attributed, adds the legal specialist.

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On this subject, Antho Tran replies that it is not a question definitely not a desired practice and that it counts rectify the situation if the fault is proven and improve in the future.

Information and advertising do not always go well together

On the Dix4 Info account, between some news videos, we find advertorials. One of them, which celebrates the opening of the 100^e branch of Pizza Salvatoré, raised eyebrows from Éric-Pierre Champagne. This is promotional content, and it’s not clear that it is, […] in addition to the mention “our sponsor” at the start of the videohe indicates.

The entire style of the video is identical to other Dix4 Info reports. It’s as if Céline Galipeau was reporting, then moving on to a story promoting a pizza chain.

This isn’t the only video of its kind on the account. Content promoting the Franchisseur.ca site on Instagram offered no clue that it was an advertisement, neither in the caption nor in the text of the video. However, another advertorial from Sushi Sama restaurants mentions it, in addition to indicating the #pub. The video captions have since been modified to display this hashtag, after - reported it to Antho Tran.

The Press Council’s Guide to Journalistic Ethics stipulates that news media make a clear distinction between journalistic information and advertising in order to avoid confusion about the nature of the information transmitted to the public.

The codes are different on social networks than on news bulletins.

For us, transparency is important in all advertising. The fact that it’s mentioned in the video, we’re not hiding anythingadds the content creator. However, this is not the case for all promotional videos published on Dix4 Info’s Instagram and TikTok accounts.

On LinkedIn in October, Antho Tran mentioned that these advertisements were sold in four digitsor a fraction of the price of what TVA Nouvelles would ask for.

If I were TVA Nouvelles, I would start to fear our media Dix4 Infohe wrote, comparing audience figures for his TikTok page to that of the Sunday bulletin on the news network.

It’s a bit like comparing apples to oranges, explains Éric-Pierre Champagne. Let’s take the example of TVA Nouvelles: these are journalists who go into the field and produce topos. The newsreader presents it. There is a whole structure behind it […] which is very expensive.

If TVA disappears tomorrow, it is not very advanced. What if The Press, Duty or - disappear too, where will he get his news?

After - contacted Antho Tran, he corrected the situation in a new publication on LinkedIn, specifying that Dix4 Info don’t try to replace [les médias traditionnels]but rather complete their mission.

We aim to reach those who only get their information on social networks, an audience that would otherwise be more vulnerable to misinformationhe added. The content creator also highlighted in an interview the work of traditional media such as 24 h- and Noovo.info, also present on these platforms.

A format with a future

With the economic crisis hitting the mediaaccompanied by numerous closures and layoffs, this type of online content is expected to multiply, according to Jordan Proust.

It is essential to supervise them well. Otherwise, we will have good quality traditional media in the middle, and a swarm of small structures.

The president of the Press Council, Pierre-Paul Noreau, says he is aware of the phenomenon and y pay close attentionbut did not wish to comment on specific cases.

On the French side, Hugo Travers, at the head of the Hugo Décrypte accounts on social networks, is a pioneer in the format of videos popularizing current events around the world. His content has hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, where he is followed by millions of people.

This rise has not been without pitfalls: he has already had to apologize for journalistic missteps. But the content creator has learned from mistakesunderlines Jordan Proust. He now produces his own news, surrounded himself with a team of journalists […] is recognized as a media outlet and even has a press card in France.

His videos are also illustrated with royalty-free imagesnotes Céline Castets-Renard.

It is our objective to produce our own reports.

According to testimonies received by its team, Dix4 Info is the only media with which people obtain information on a daily basis. Over the last 60 days, more than 2.2 million unique viewers in Quebec have watched Dix4 Info videos, according to the content creator.

The president of the FPJQ believes that traditional media could learn from the success of these online media. The style, the borrowed tone […] it works to reach a young audience, and that is the great difficulty of traditional media. […] We have no more reservations about borrowing this kind of tonehe admits.

This demonstrates that, despite everything that is said against the media, information has very important value. […] Information has a futuresays Éric-Pierre Champagne.