UN ANNOUNCES A PLAN TO COMBAT DISINFORMATION SPREAD ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

Wed 08 October 2023:

On Monday, November 6, the UN issued a warning about the rise in hate speech and misinformation on the internet and unveiled a strategy to stop it.

This was in response to a global poll that revealed over 85% of respondents were worried about the effects of internet misinformation and 87% said it had already negatively impacted their nation’s political landscape.

“A major threat to stability and social cohesion” is what internet hate speech and incorrect information amount to, according to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.

“Digital technology has enabled immense progress on freedom of speech. But social media platforms have also accelerated and amplified the spread of false information and hate speech, posing major risks to societal cohesion, peace and stability,” Azoulay told reporters on Monday.

“To protect access to information, we must regulate these platforms without delay, while at the same time protecting freedom of expression and human rights,” she added.

A survey conducted by pollster Ipsos of 8,000 people residing in countries including Austria, Croatia, the US, Algeria, Mexico, Ghana and India, uncovered that around 56 per cent of internet users consumed news via social media platforms, whereas only 44 per cent of the people got it from TV channels and 29 per cent from news websites.

The organisation, while expressing concern over the situation, said that there was a dire need for effective regulation to control the dissemination of disinformation as the survey showed how social media was the main source of news for the majority of the people in almost all the countries.

However, across these 16 countries where the survey was conducted and which are also due to hold national polls next year, 68 per cent of the respondents agreed that social media was not a reliable source of information and that these platforms were mainly home to false information.

“People are very concerned about disinformation, across every country and social category – age, education, rural or urban,” said Mathieu Gallard of Ipsos. “They are especially worried during elections – and they want all actors to fight it.”

UNESCO said that its seven key principles must be respected so that “the impact on human rights becomes the compass for all decision-making, at every stage and by every stakeholder.”

“Our work has been guided by one central requirement: the protection at all times of freedom of expression and all other human rights. Restricting or limiting speech would be a terrible solution. Having media outlets and information tools that are independent, qualitative and free, is the best long-term response to disinformation,” the Director-General underscored.

NEWS AGENCIES

______________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

WhatsApp CHANNEL
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22