Update: Radio France removed the last paragraph in the piece that claimed " @Gargron had quit his own social network [Mastodon] because he was fed up the behavior of certain users."
But this preposterous lie is still in their radio broadcast. The clip has been up for 10 HOURS now.
Maybe @Mastodon could use this as leverage to set the record straight and get some exposure with French listeners.
I'm this close to getting my LinkedIn account out of hibernation to write to Radio France about it
@_elena @Gargron Ineptitude or ill-intent. Hard to tell. The French press has a history of not caring about facts if it fits their narrative when talking about something they consider fringe (and there will be no consequence to their slander).
Or... Some people in the French government have a vested interest in the success of W social (either monetary or for good PR) and they're undermining what they see as its main competition. ⤵️
Update: Radio France removed the last paragraph in the piece that claimed " @Gargron had quit his own social network [Mastodon] because he was fed up the behavior of certain users."
But this preposterous lie is still in their radio broadcast. The clip has been up for 10 HOURS now.
Maybe @Mastodon could use this as leverage to set the record straight and get some exposure with French listeners.
I'm this close to getting my LinkedIn account out of hibernation to write to Radio France about it
@_elena @Gargron @Mastodon no no no @gargron and John Mastodon have been have a quarrel for years. Something about John kept eating all of the sandwiches in the fridge despite the fact @gargron put him name on them.
He just stopped putting his food on the Mastodon office fridge because of certain behaviors.
That story always gets twisted in its re-telling
@_elena @gargron @Mastodon there is a right call "droit de réponse" that forces media to publish (but not necessarily broadcast) additional facts or versions. also the convention is to ask for comment on quotes and facts and precise the person didn't answer at time of publication (and courtesy is to let a reasonable amount of time for the person to answer).
@_elena @Gargron Looking new friend. Always active on snap : https://www.snapchat.com/@elima_elisa
In November 2025, Eugen Rochko stepped down as Mastodon CEO, and he transferred the trademark and assets to Mastodon. He did NOT cancel his account or any instances. It’s still there. The “journalist” could have check.
https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2025/11/my-next-chapter-with-mastodon
In January 2026, he opted his Mastodon account out of the Bluesky bridge. This was supposedly because of the user behavior at Bsky. But I cannot find a direct statement about him leaving because of users.
https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/115912977448929626
@NickBergenComputerQuest you can't "find a direct statement about him leaving because of users" because it's a complete fabrication by that so-called journalist / radio host.
I repeat, a complete fabrication. And my jaw is still on the floor.
Thank you @imacrea for bringing to our attention that shocking paragraph
I also hate the French press. It's impossible to clean. #☕️
Humans make mistakes.
Here is a page where you can write him. They will probably mention the mistake and correct it in another podcast:
@_elena @Gargron I foresee all those blind lemmings who left centralised platform X because one person started pulling the strings there with an undesirable fascist result, and then fled to a similar centralised platform, Bluesky, where ICE is suddenly allowed, now fleeing again to yet another centralised platform, W, only to find out in a few years' time that it's the same shit.
Donkeys don't stumble over the same stone twice!
@_elena @Gargron Wow, this, well, article is... something. In German jurisprudence, I guess this would most likely fall under “false factual claims” and can have legal consequences for the author. As it is not “only” directed against one person, but against the network as a whole and can have very negative consequences, I would at least consider taking legal actions against this person.
The crucial point is: Is a lie being claimed as fact, or is it being expressed as opinion?
@_elena I didn't listen to it, only read the text. I wouldn't judge all journalists based on one example.
He states: "Tout cela est très marketing pour W, qui saisit une fenêtre d’opportunité" and while talking about Zeiter's great experience in marketing and publicity he nails the big problem of Mastodon.
Mastodon has neither the money nor the human power for big lobbyism/marketing.
I know, Mastodon fans don't like to hear it but it's a fact. And the size of a network depends on
@_elena how many politicians, organisations and journalists will join - because then the masses will join. If we want that is another question.
So yes, it's just one of these "quick" broadcast contributions where an author doesn't interview people directly (or did he?) and graps the informations on the desk. And these were definitively the press release/publicity of Zeiter ...
@Z_Zed_Zed @NatureMC @Gargron one of my favorite features to be honest (top 3!)
yup
we are on #mastodon/ #fediverse because the profit motive in corporate #socialMedia means privacy defilement, free reign for bigotry/ ignorance, and #algorithm manipulation by #plutocracy agendas
the same applies to the #news #media:
#ventureCapital takes over dying traditional media outlets and puts right wing goons in the managing editor positions
we have nonprofit news ( #NPR, #ProPublica, #TheGuardian, etc)
trust them
all else: beware
@benroyce perfectly said Ben!!! 🙌
I just found a video of the CEO of W Social at Davos literally going: "10 years ago we were saying that data is the new oil, but right now we say HIGH QUALITY data is the new oil."
To me it kind of reads like a confession / motivating force behind (1) creating W Social (2) using AT Proto for their "European alternative to X." Ouf.
@_elena That CEO used to be Chief Privacy Officer at eBay.. lol. Goes to tell what shape eBay's privacy is in, and what to expect from that BS project.
@Gargron@mastodon.social Lawyer up. A claim like that can cause a lot of damage to the reputation of your hard work.
@KitsuneVixi indeed
The chef's kiss is that according to LinkedIn, the author of the article has been a teacher of journalism at La Sorbonne and has published numerous books.
This is not a 19-year-old intern casually writing about tech: https://fr.linkedin.com/in/françois-saltiel-42725334
@aaronmccollum That's my impression too: it was a quick production because Zeiter's press release was on the table, so they quickly opened a blog page for a second structure, took a look, wrote something, and that was it.
These three-minute pieces are done under enormous time pressure. And very few listeners remember them afterwards.
@NatureMC @aaronmccollum @laxsill @_elena
my mother was a reporter and editor. she got me a part time job in high school at her newspaper
i've watched her work since i was in diapers and so i understand through her time pressure in journalism
but that is no defense for shoddy work
nor do people just forget
in fact the lies, intentional or unintentional, that appear in the press have debilitating effects on the common perception of truth
@benroyce worth mentioning your Neil Postman connection too Ben for the extra cred 😉
The LinkedIn profile of that French journalist is really alarming because he's been a teacher of journalism at La Sorbonne and has published several books on tech. He's a radio producer and host. It's shocking that he would share such blatant lies. Shocking I tell you!
He even has a Wikipedia page: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Saltiel
@_elena @NatureMC @aaronmccollum @laxsill
Yup. NYU Media Ecology track Master of Arts grad here, Neil Postman was my thesis advisor
(now called the Media, Culture, and Communication dept, I'm old)
and François Saltiel needs to learn a little thing called integrity
@_elena I'm surprised this kind of stuff even reaches mainstream press, normally they try to ignore any "computer-stuff" not backed by large corporations.
