Between tutorials and fantasy: French-speaking YouTubers' portrayal of the darknet

This article analyzes how French-speaking YouTubers portray the darknet, showing how the platform contributes to the construction of an imaginary world that oscillates between education and sensationalism. The study highlights how the darknet, often misunderstood and surrounded by media myths, is transformed into a narrative object accessible to a wide audience. Through an examination of different formats (fiction, testimonials, tutorials) and a viewing experiment conducted with nine participants, the article identifies the narrative codes used, such as suspense, audiovisual effects, and the use of supposed “evidence,” while seeking to understand the effects they have on their audience. These devices blur the boundaries between fiction and reality, reinforcing the emotional impact on the audience. The viewers' reception reveals a mixture of fear, fascination, and curiosity, which contributes to consolidating the ambivalent image of the darknet: both a threatening space and a mysterious place. YouTube thus appears as a central player in the dissemination and reconfiguration of social representations of the darknet.