Tag: Disinformation

WFA and GARM endorse strengthened EU Code of Practice on disinformation

Stuart Mitchell

Industry stakeholders, including WFA and GARM, have drafted and endorsed a strengthened EU Code of Practice designed to fight the spread and monetisation of disinformation. Leading social media companies and representatives of the marketing and advertising industry, including WFA and GARM, have developed a new EU Code of Practice designed to address the spread of disinformation online. The new Code, which sets forth commitments and measures all players involved in the online ecosystem should take to tackle this serious issue, has now been published by the European Commission and brand owners…

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#SocialMedia4Peace: Pilot Bosnia and Herzegovina counters online disinformation and hate speech

Stuart Mitchell

On 29 June 2021, the European Union and the Antenna in Sarajevo of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe officially inaugurated the ‘Social Media 4 Peace’ project in pilot country Bosnia and Herzegovina. Discussions emphasised the powerful role that social media and ICT play in shaping socio-political realities, and the need to strengthen the resilience of civil society in the face of potentially harmful content distributed online especially content that incites hatred and violence. The lessons learnt at the local level will feed-in for the global…

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UNESCO bolsters journalists’ role in fighting disinformation

Stuart Mitchell

Facts are a matter of life and death. We all depend on hard science and reliable information cutting through the noise. And yet, we’re bombarded with false or inaccurate information and questionable science about the virus. Facebook says close to 40 million posts related to COVID-19 had to be flagged for disinformation in March. Over the last month, Twitter had challenged more than 1.5 million users, on spreading false information and displaying “manipulative behaviors.” Close to 18 million scam emails about the coronavirus are being blocked by Google on Gmail each…

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New collaboration steps up fight against disinformation

Stuart Mitchell

A new industry collaboration to tackle dangerous misinformation was announced by the BBC and partners today. Major news and tech organisations will work together to protect their audiences and users from disinformation, particularly around moments of jeopardy, including elections. Earlier this summer the BBC convened a Trusted News Summit, bringing together senior figures from major global technology firms and publishing. Recent events such as the Indian elections have highlighted the dangers of disinformation and the risks it poses to democracy, and have underlined the importance of working together around shared…

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IPA reacts to DCMS Report on Disinformation and Fake News

Stuart Mitchell

The IPA fully advocates the DCMS proposal for a public and searchable repository – something it called for in its written evidence to the Select Committee back in July – to aid transparency of online political advertising. This will provide recipients with relevant information to allow them to identify the source of the ad, who uploaded it, who sponsored it, and its country of origin. The IPA also supports the recommendations made by the Electoral Commission to the DCMS for imprints to show the sponsor of the ad. To ensure…

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