CheckNews
Article reserved for subscribers
According to our information, the man who presents himself as a “lobbyist” provided at least three subjects to the presenter of BFM TV Rachid M’Barki, on behalf of Moroccan, Sudanese and Bahraini clients. A former fixer in Syria, Duthion boasts privately of paying journalists to “place” stories.
“When do you want me to broadcast the text with the video on BFM TV?” In exchanges on WhatsApp dating from October 2022, that CheckNews was able to consult, two men are negotiating the conditions for the broadcast of a “commissioned” subject, praising the role of Sudan in the fight once morest illegal immigration. “THURSDAY” wishes the client, representing a wealthy Sudanese businessman. He will be answered, although disappointed: the subject will pass during the night, far from the expected prime time. A haggling that violates all the rules of journalistic ethics, and yet concerns the first continuous news channel in the country.
This sequence is at the heart of the scandal which shakes BFMTV, confronted with suspicions of foreign interference, via a star personality of the antenna. As CheckNews detailed it, several sequences possibly remotely controlled by foreign interests led in mid-January to the suspension of the leading journalist Rachid M’Barki, revealed by the site Politico. An audit was commissioned to measure the extent of the deviations.
In addition to this sequence concerning Sudan, the suspicions relate to a subject broadcast on June 22 promoting