
French film academy behind the César Awards quits Elon Musk's X
Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera also waved goodbye last year.
Now, the Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques, the body behind France's national film awards, the Césars, is ditching X.
In an announcement, the César Academy said it had deleted its account on the platform, noting that the public positions taken by owner Elon Musk means that X 'no longer corresponds' to the Academy's stated values.
'The Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques has decided to end its presence on the social network X, formerly Twitter,' the statement reads. 'This decision, proposed by the Bureau and unanimously validated by the House of Representatives of the Association, is part of a process of consistency with the fundamental principles of the Academy in terms of ethics and integrity.'
'The Academy's mission is to promote cinema in all its diversity,' the statement adds. 'It supports all forms of artistic expression, without distinction of origin or identity of those who contribute to the creation or distribution of films. The César Academy believes that the X platform, particularly due to the actions and stances of its leader, no longer aligns with its values. Therefore, it is withdrawing from the platform effective immediately.
The decision to leave X follows Musk's Nazi-like gesture at Donald Trump's Presidential inauguration, as well as repeated sharing of right-wing content on X and seemingly supporting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
He also recently endorsed Germany's far-right populist AfD party and made a controversial comment at an AfD rally two days before the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Musk told Germans to let go of "the guilt of the past" - something which led Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to state that Musk's words sounded "all too familiar and ominous, especially only hours before the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz."
The César Academy's move also follows last week's decision to suspend any member currently under investigation for sexual violence. The organization has been implementing #MeToo measures to prevent and address misconduct within the French film industry.
Regarding the zero-tolerance policy, the Academy announced: 'In the event of legal proceedings against a member for acts of violence, particularly of a sexist or sexual nature, the board will suspend the member's voting rights until the ongoing procedure is concluded, or exclude them entirely until the full completion of the sentence, in the case of a final conviction.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


France 24
36 minutes ago
- France 24
Oscars group picks 'A Star is Born' producer as new president
Howell Taylor, who is British and also produced "Blue Valentine" and "The Accountant," becomes the fifth woman chosen to run Hollywood's most elite group of filmmakers. Academy members vote for the winners of the Oscars each year. CEO Bill Kramer praised Howell Taylor for "revitalizing our awards work" during her time serving as an Academy governor. Howell Taylor also produced the 2020 Oscars ceremony, in which "Parasite" became the first non-English language film to win best picture. Hollywood's most prestigious award show, the Oscars have seen a recent uptick in interest, with nearly 20 million watching the latest ceremony in March. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Oscars ratings sank to barely 10.4 million. The Academy Awards telecast regularly topped 40 million just a decade ago. © 2025 AFP


AFP
an hour ago
- AFP
AI images of Holocaust violin players circulate online
"Henek, a violinist, was forced into the camp orchestra. His role: to play music as fellow prisoners were led to the gas chambers. He played 'Schubert's Serenade' with tears streaming down his face, bow trembling in his hand," a July 4, 2025 post on Facebook says. "One girl turned and whispered, 'Your music is the last thing I'll hear. Thank you.'" The post shows an image of a gaunt man playing the violin with emaciated figures standing behind him. "Henek survived the war. He never touched a violin again," the post, which generated more than 12,000 likes and 5,000 shares, claims. Image Screenshot of a post on Facebook taken July 31, 2025, with red cross added by AFP The image was shared across numerous other accounts on Facebook, as well as on X, Instagram, Threads and YouTube. ad in multiple languages including Greek, French and Bulgarian. arches reveal that "Henek" is just one of many fake characters featured in fabricated narratives about violin players including "Eliska Varga," "Miriam Grünbaum," "Eliezer," "Jakob," "Eli Grunfeld," "Leon," "David Morgenstern" and multiple images of men apparently nam." Image Screenshots of multiple posts on Facebook taken July 31, 2025, with red cross added by AFP The images follow an alarming trend of content creators churning out AI-generated content for money, targeting Westerners' emotional reactions to the Holocaust, in which six million Jewish people were killed (archived here). The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum repeatedly condemned the content (archived here) -- also lodging complaints with Facebook owner Meta over the posts. But it said the technology giant did not respond. Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) warned of the dangers of false Holocaust content in a 2024 report, which said AI-generated posts can warp historical narratives and fuel anti-Semitism (archived here). While music was an integral part of everyday life in almost all the Nazi-run camps, with prisoners being forced to either sing or play instruments (archived here), both the image and the story shared on social media are fabricated. Visual inconsistencies ntified several visual inconsistencies in the image of "Henek." The violinist seems to have square-like knuckles that are disproportionate in size. One figure in the background only has three fingers. Image The image shared on social media, with visual inconsistencies highlighted by AFP The fourth string of the violin also disappears at the bottom part of the instrument. Image The image shared on social media, with visual inconsistencies highlighted and magnified by AFP His appearance is also inconsistent with the other figures in the "Henek" has a head full of hair while those in the background have their heads shaved. A shirt clings to the violinist's torso while the majority of the prisoners are shirtless and wearing pants with a belt. Both modes of dressing, however, differ from the blue and and jacket required in the Nazi-run camps (archived here). Sybille Steinbacher, professor of contemporary history at the University of Vienna (archived here), said her doubts about the authenticity of the image were reinforced by the shirtless men depicted. s had to be clothed; there was no such thing as standing for roll call with a naked upper body," she said on July 23 to AFP. Pawel Sawicki, deputy spokesperson for the Auschwitz Memorial (archived here), said in a July 24 email that prisoners "did not have belts and camp numbers were also sewn onto their trousers." pointed out that in 1943 prisoners would have had tattoos with their numbers on their arms. Image The image shared on social media, with visual inconsistencies highlighted by AFP AFP also analyzed a video posted on Facebook, which pointed to further visual inconsistencies. The InVID Verification Plugin magnifier tool reveals frames in the clip where the faces in the background appear The person to the left of the musician also looks as if he has no sternum or stomach, with ribs showing down to his belt. Image Screenshot of a keyframe with results from the InVID verification tool taken July 21, 2025, with visual inconsistencies highlighted by AFP Historical inaccuracies Researchers other historical inaccuracies pertaining to the story of "Henek." On July 6, the Auschwitz Memorial account posted a screenshot of a false post on X, saying: "Publishing fake, AI-generated images of Auschwitz is not only a dangerous distortion. Such fabrication disrespects victims and harasses their memory" (archived here). In a comment below the post, it pointed to inaccurate details in the story, including that it was improbable for a girl to have walked past a male violinist as the "men's orchestra played in the men's camp." Publishing fake, AI-generated images of Auschwitz is not only a dangerous distortion. Such fabrication disrespects victims and harasses their memory. If you see such posts, please don't share them. Instead, follow the official @AuschwitzMuseum, where every name, every photo, and… — Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) July 6, 2025 Auschwitz-Birkenau museum historian Jacek Lachendro (archived here) said that some historical accounts mention the men's orchestra in Birkenau playing while newly arrived Jews were being led to the gas chambers or while "prisoners were being led to the place of their execution by hanging or shooting (but not during the execution itself)." However, he emphasized that the musicians did not play in these situations "as a Elise Petit, whose research focuses on music within the Nazi camp system, agreed, telling AFP on July 21 that musicians mainly "played close to the gate when prisoners were marching in and out of the camp to work," (archived here, here and here). The Auschwitz Memorial concurred with Petit's analysis, writing in a comment on the July 6 post that "Orchestras at Auschwitz did not play 'while men, women, and children were marched to their deaths'. Their main job was to play when columns of prisoners walked out to work and marched back to the camp." ed the Arolsen Archives -- a containing victims and survivors of the Nazi regime -- for the name "Henek" and individuals mentioned in other posts, using a filter for "Konzenstrationslager Auschwitz" under "Place of Incarceration." But the search results do not match the identity of "Henek" or others depicted in the images and stories shared online. AI Detectors AFP analyzed the image developed by cybersecurity company GetReal Lab, which the image was synthetic. Image Screenshot taken July 18, 2025 showing the results of synthetic content analysis done using GetReal Lab AFP through the Hive Moderation AI detection tool, which found that the image is highly likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content, with a 99.9 percent confidence level. Image Screenshot taken July 21, 2025 showing the results of analysis using Hive Moderation first concentration camps, established in 1933 shortly after Adolf Hitler became chancellor, were primarily used to imprison opponents of Nazi policy. By the end of 1942, six extermination camps were in operation, including Auschwitz-Birkenau, following the Wannsee conference that formalized the Nazis' policy of extermination of Jews in occupied Europe. Around 1.1 million people were systemically murdered in Auschw it the largest death camp. Approximately one million of those killed at Auschwitz were Jews, with Roma, Russian prisoners of war and Poles among the rest murdered. AFP fact-checked other claims related to AI here.

LeMonde
8 hours ago
- LeMonde
Palestinian student in France probed over 'hateful' online posts
A Palestinian student from Gaza suspected of posting "hateful" anti-Semitic messages, which led to her losing her place in a French university, is being investigated and will have to leave France, officials said on Thursday, July 31. France's prestigious Sciences Po university in the northern city of Lille canceled the student's accreditation on Wednesday. On Thursday, Lille's chief prosecutor, Carole Etienne, told AFP a probe had been opened against the student for allegedly trying to "justify terrorism" and "justify a crime against humanity." A French diplomatic source said that, given those developments, the student "should now leave (French) national territory as soon as possible." Screenshots of posts the student allegedly shared in September – published by pro-Israel accounts on X, formerly Twitter – include an image of Adolf Hitler and words appearing to call for the death of Jews. The account attributed to the student has been taken offline, after French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau demanded it be closed down. Retailleau said that "Hamas propagandists" should not be in the country, referring to the Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza. Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Wednesday described her as "a Gazan student making anti-Semitic remarks" and pledged an inquiry into how she gained a student visa. The Lille prosecutor's investigation comes against a background of heightened online rhetoric related to Israel's war in Gaza. France is home to both the biggest Muslim and Jewish communities in the European Union. The Sciences Po university told AFP that the Palestinian student had been welcomed to its campus "at the recommendation of the French consulate in Jerusalem." The French diplomatic source said the student arrived in France on July 11 on a scholarship based on "academic excellence" and after "security checks." France has helped more than 500 people leave Gaza since the latest war started, included wounded children, journalists, students and artists. French President Emmanuel Macron last week said his country will recognize Palestinian statehood in September, as international alarm grows about the plight of the more than two million Palestinians facing hunger in the Gaza Strip. But Paris has urged a post-war plan for Gaza to exclude Hamas, which the European Union deems to be a "terrorist" group.