Je suis Charlie

"'" (, ) is a slogan and logo created by French art director Joachim Roncin and adopted by supporters of freedom of speech and freedom of the press after the 7 January 2015 shooting in which twelve people were killed at the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper ''Charlie Hebdo''. It identifies a speaker or supporter with those who were killed at the ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting, and by extension, a supporter of freedom of speech and resistance to armed threats. Some journalists embraced the expression as a rallying cry for the freedom of self-expression.

The slogan was first used on Twitter. The website of ''Charlie Hebdo'' went offline shortly after the shooting and when it became live again, it bore the legend ''Je suis Charlie'' on a black background, a PDF containing translations in seven languages was added shortly thereafter. The statement was used as the hashtag #jesuischarlie and #iamcharlie on Twitter, as computer printed or hand-made placards and stickers, and displayed on mobile phones at vigils, and on many websites, particularly media sites.

Within two days of the attack, the slogan had become one of the most popular news hashtags in Twitter history. ''Je suis Charlie'' was adopted worldwide, was used in music, displayed in print and animated cartoons (including ''The Simpsons''), and became the new name of a town square in France. On 12 January, ''Charlie Hebdo'' revealed the cover of its 14 January issue, set to be published a week after the attacks began. The cover features a cartoon of the Islamic prophet Muhammad shedding a tear while holding a ''Je suis Charlie'' sign, below the words ''"Tout est pardonné"'' ("All is forgiven").

Origin and meaning

About one hour after the attack, an image of the slogan was posted to Twitter by Joachim Roncin, a French artist and music journalist for '' Stylist'' magazine. Roncin says he created the image because he lacked words. Roncin said the phrase came to him naturally, because he regularly spends time with his son looking at ''Où est Charlie?'' books (the French language version of ''Where's Wally?'')..

The slogan is intended to evoke solidarity with the victims, as other similar phrases have done. Such "I am" and "We are" slogans "express empathy, outrage, and horror by subsuming ourselves into victims' identities", wrote Amanda Hess of ''Slate''. French media in particular noted its similarity to the phrase "Tonight, we are all Americans," (''"Ce soir, nous sommes tous Américains"'') spoken on air by France 2 reporter Nicole Bacharan on the evening of 11 September 2001. The phrase was widely embraced, including being printed on the front page of French newspaper ''Le Monde'' the following day. ''Je suis Charlie'' has also been compared to another phrase of solidarity, "''Ich bin ein Berliner''" ("I am a Berliner"), a declaration by U.S. President John F. Kennedy on 26 June 1963, in West Berlin on the 15th anniversary of the Berlin blockade.

Media also have drawn comparisons to the iconic "I'm Spartacus" scene in the film ''Spartacus'' (1960). The phrase is also similar to "Main hoon aam aadmi" (meaning "I am the common man"), a slogan used by the Aam Aadmi Party in India.

Reaction to violence against journalists

Beyond expressing sympathy for the victims, within hours of the attack the hashtag was used by journalists discussing the issue of censorship and threats. Sophie Kleeman of Mic wrote, "#JeSuisCharlie sends a clear message: Regardless of the threat of hatred or violence, journalists and non-journalists alike refuse to be silenced. As Charbonnier said in 2012, following the firebombing of his offices, 'I have neither a wife nor children, not even a dog. But I'm not going to hide.'"

In the opinion of Gene Policinski, chief operating officer of the Newseum Institute and Senior Vice-President of the First Amendment Center, the ''Charlie Hebdo'' killings were part of a string of recent threats toward journalists and freedom of speech, following North Korea's threats over the release of the film ''The Interview'' (2014) and ISIL's executions of journalists. In his opinion, Policinski stated that instead of being successful at silencing anyone, these attempts at censorship and the Paris massacre have backfired and instead brought more awareness and support to freedom of speech. "Ironically, such violence directed at journalists, authors and others is recognition that free expression and the marketplace of ideas—enshrined in the U.S. onstitutionin the First Amendment—is a powerful weapon against tyranny", he wrote; "For more than 220 years, in the U.S., the 45 words of the First Amendment have defined the nation's core freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition. We now have another few words that will serve as a global means of declaring those freedoms: #JeSuisCharlie."

Journalist Peter Bella wrote that more than 100 reporters were killed "doing their jobs" in 2014 and that "many were executed just because they were journalists." He said the hashtag "was created to support ''Charlie Hebdo'', the victims, and freedom of the press, speech, and expression. I am Charlie. You are Charlie. We are all Charlie."

''"Je ne suis pas Charlie"''

Counter-hashtags also appeared as expressions of disagreement with the unconditional support of ''Charlie Hebdo''. The hashtag #JeNeSuisPasCharlie ("I am not Charlie") was used by those who accuse the magazine of racism. ''Le Monde'' reported that a fake bomb was left in the faculty lounge of a French high school containing the message: "Je ne suis pas Charlie". In an article titled "I Am Not Charlie Hebdo" published in ''The New York Times'', American journalist David Brooks, while describing the journalists at ''Charlie Hebdo'' as "martyrs on behalf of freedom of expression," described ''Charlie Hebdo'' as a puerile magazine whose offensive humor would be labelled as hate speech in the United States. News media also used the slogan "Je ne suis pas Charlie" to discuss why they chose not to publish any ''Charlie Hebdo'' cartoons as part of their news reporting. Others used the "Je ne suis pas Charlie" slogan to make a comparison between the loud outcry over the attacks in Paris, and the comparatively smaller outcry over other atrocities going on in non-Western countries that took place at the same time.

Other criticism

In a ''The New Yorker'' essay, Teju Cole objected to the claim that ''Charlie Hebdo'' cartoonists and writers were equal opportunity offenders; to him, the magazine, in recent years, had taken a turn "specifically for racist and Islamophobic provocations (...) featuring hook-nosed Arabs, bullet-ridden Korans, variations on the theme of sodomy, and mockery of the victims of a massacre". Furthermore, he also posited that the outpouring of support for ''Charlie Hebdo'' was only possible because the attack fits in a pre-established narrative wherein Western lives are worth more, and which sees that violence that befalls the Third World and/or has Western allies as accomplices is paid comparatively little attention. Cole also rebuked the view that "violence by self-proclaimed Jihadists is the only threat to liberty in Western societies", stating that the very governments of France, the US, and the UK undermine free speech within their own societies via monitoring and punishment of dissidents and critics of the state. Cole was among the writers who boycotted the PEN American Center's May 2015 gala as an award to ''Charlie Hebdo'' was due to be presented at the ceremony.

Glenn Greenwald accused supporters of ''Je Suis Charlie'' of either keeping silence about, or downright supporting, what he sees as free speech violations perpetrated by the French state in the year that followed the massacre, including the following events: the arrest of comedian Dieudonné M'bala M'bala for hate speech, and of further dozens of people for "acts insulting religious faiths, or for cheering the men who carried out the attacks"; the criminal conviction, by France's highest court, of pro-Palestinian protesters for having advocated a boycott of Israeli products at a supermarket; the shutting down of mosques and coffee shops; and France's use of "emergency powers", after the November 2015 Paris attacks, to ban a rally by environmental activists in protest to the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference which was taking place in the French capital. He has accused most ''Je Suis Charlie'' supporters of being, not true advocates of free speech rights, but anti-Muslim agitators who used the massacre at the magazine's headquarters as a "cynical weapon". Greenwald has cited in his support the work of French sociologist Emmanuel Todd. Todd claims that the marches on 11 January 2015 to show solidarity with the ''Charlie Hebdo'' victims were not an expression of positive French values but of right-wing and anti-immigrant elements in France. The biggest of such protests, says Todd, "had occurred in the country's most historically Catholic and reactionary regions", with the working class and children of immigrants being notably absent therefrom. In 2015 Todd published a book expanding on his view named ''Qui est Charlie? Sociologie d'une crise religieuse'' ("Who is Charlie? Sociology of a religious crisis"), which has become his most controversial and popular essay.

Usage

Twitter

''Je suis Charlie'' trended at the top of Twitter hashtags on 7 January, the day of the attack. By the following afternoon it had appeared more than 3.4 million times, and was being used nearly 6,500 times per minute. By Friday, it had appeared more than 5 million times.

The U.S. Embassy in Paris and the Association française pour le nommage Internet en coopération were among the people and organizations which changed their Twitter profile pictures to the ''Je suis Charlie'' placard.

Cartoonists

Numerous cartoonists created art using the slogan. Others used it in combination with pictures of the deceased.
* The magazine ''Charlie Hebdo'' had used the name Charlie Brown from the ''Peanuts'' comic strip, and an image of Charlie Brown crying with the slogan was posted on Twitter.
* ''The Canberra Times political cartoonist David Pope released an image of a smoking gun, with a gunman saying, "He drew first."
* Cartoonist James MacLeod released an image of the power of the gun compared with the power of free speech.
* Soshy released an image of a blood-dripping ''Je suis Charlie'' in front of the French flag.
* Albert Uderzo, creator of Astérix, came out of retirement aged 87 following the attack. He released a new drawing of Astérix punching a villain wearing babouches while declaring "Moi aussi, je suis un Charlie!" ("I too am a Charlie!")
* Cartoonist Rob Tornoe used ''Je suis Charlie'' to mock newspapers and media companies, like the ''New York Daily News'', for reprinting his cartoon without permission or payment.
* The Cagle Post posted a collection of ''Je suis Charlie'' cartoons from cartoonists in the United States and around the world.

Demonstrations

The ''Je suis Charlie'' slogan and translations were used on placards and mobile phone displays at vigils and demonstrations in many cities in France, Europe, North America, South America, Oceania and some Asian cities.

Media and other websites

"''Je suis Charlie''" was used on the following websites:
* ''Libération'', ''Le Monde'', and ''Le Figaro'' and other French media used it as a banner across the top of their websites.
* ''The Spectator'' writer Alex Massie in his article "Je Suis Charlie."
* On 7 January, Reddit changed its logo to show its mascot holding a ''Je suis Charlie'' placard.
* More than 30 journalism agencies and organizations in the United States (including the National Press Photographers Association, the Online News Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Newseum, the National Press Club, and the Newspaper Association of America

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