| NOTAS: | Broadband Commission research report on ‘Freedom of Expression and Addressing Disinformation on the Internet’
"In June 2020, more than 130 United Nations member countries and official observers called on all States to take steps to counter the spread of disinformation, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic (UN Africa Renewal, 2020). Balancing Act: Responding to Disinformation While Defending Freedom of Expression uses the term ‘disinformation’ to describe false or misleading content with potentially harmful consequences, irrespective of the underlying intentions or behaviours in producing and circulating such messages. The focus is not on definitions, but on how States, companies, institutions and organisations around the world are responding to this phenomenon, broadly conceived. The work includes a novel typology of 11 responses, making holistic sense of the disinformation crisis on an international scale, including during COVID-19. It also provides a 23-step tool developed to assess disinformation responses, including their impact on freedom of expression (see below). The research concludes that disinformation cannot be addressed in the absence of freedom of expression concerns, and it explains why actions to combat disinformation should support, and not violate, this right. It also underlines that access to reliable and trustworthy information, such as that produced by critical independent journalism, is a counter to disinformation." |
