Azernews.Az

Elnur Enveroglu

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Around the globe, two distinct approaches to navigating political and social challenges have begun to dominate — yet only one is gaining traction in the corridors of power. The first is the increasingly rare objective approach, where facts and principles are weighed impartially. But objectivity, once considered a cornerstone of rational discourse, is fading fast. Today, even objective analysis often intersects with vested interests and shifting values, mutating at any given moment to accommodate expediency.

In its place, a far more insidious paradigm is taking hold: the biased approach, dressed in the garb of moral superiority but often steeped in corruption, favoritism, and double standards. It’s a dangerous game — one where falsehoods are paraded as truths, and bias is institutionalized. One might even liken it to a grotesque creature cloaked in the costume of integrity.

In Western societies, terms like “democracy,” “free speech,” and “human rights” have morphed into little more than branding tools — slogans wielded by power centers not to enlighten, but to dominate. The very institutions that birthed these ideals now often weaponize them through smear campaigns and political sabotage against those who dare to think differently.

Take France, for instance. On May 3, World Press Freedom Day, Anne Boillon, the French Ambassador to Azerbaijan, took to X (formerly Twitter) to issue a statement that singled out Azerbaijan in the name of press freedom. Her tone, implicitly paternalistic, perfectly captured the air of self-righteousness that defines much of contemporary French foreign policy.

Yet Ambassador Boillon is surely aware of the realities back home. According to French polling data, more than 60% of the French public does not believe in the existence of genuine press freedom within their own country. Trust in the media has eroded dramatically, with many citizens viewing news outlets as platforms for political propaganda rather than public service.

This isn’t an isolated perception. Since 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron has faced mounting domestic and overseas backlash, from mainland France to its overseas territories and former colonies in Africa. Public anger has spilled into the streets, at times literally, with protesters throwing eggs, slapping the president, or even dousing government buildings with manure. These are not just acts of protest; they’re symbols of a political class that many see as rotting from the inside out.

What’s more disturbing is the French government’s response. Macron’s administration has adopted punitive measures against dissenters, often punishing critics with exile or imprisonment. In 2023, press criticism of Macron reportedly reached such a level of suppression that critical journalists faced jail time — or worse, silent banishment from the country. In today’s France, censorship isn’t a ghost of the past; it’s a state-sponsored reality. Yet “freedom” continues to be a fixture in France’s official lexicon — a term now so overused it has become little more than a cliché.

But perhaps the most consistent trait among Western policymakers is their uncanny ability to deflect. Rather than confront their own democratic shortcomings, they prefer to cast stones from glass houses, all the while preaching about the virtues of the very freedoms they are accused of undermining at home.