Accra, June 25, GNA – The United Nations (UN) has launched some recommendations for urgent action to be taken to curb harm from spread of mis and disinformation and hate speech.
It said the world must respond to the harm caused by the spread of online hate and lies while robustly upholding human rights.
In a statement, Mr António Guterres, UN Secretary General, at the launch of the United Nations Global Principles For Information Integrity, said misinformation, disinformation, hate speech and other risks to the information ecosystem were fueling conflict, threatening democracy and human rights, and undermining public health and climate action.
He said their proliferation was being supercharged by the rapid rise of readily available Artificial Intelligence (Al) technologies, increasing the threat to groups often targeted in information spaces, including children.
“The United Nations Global Principles for Information Integrity aim to empower people to demand their rights,” said the Secretary-General.
He said: “At a time when billions of people are exposed to false narratives, distortions and lies, these principles lay out a clear path forward, firmly rooted in human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and opinion.”
One year after the launch of his report into information integrity on digital platforms, Mr Guterres has put forward a framework for coordinated international action to make information spaces safer and more humane.
He issued an urgent appeal to government, tech companies, advertisers and the PR industry to step up and take responsibility for the spread and monetisation of content that resulted in harm.
The statement said the United Nations’ own missions, operations, and priorities were compromised by the erosion of information integrity, including vital peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts.
Some of the recommendations are : Governments, tech companies, advertisers, media and other stakeholders should refrain from using, supporting or amplifying disinformation and hate speech for any purpose.
Governments should provide timely access to information, guarantee a free, viable, independent, and plural media landscape and ensure strong protections for journalists, researchers and civil society.
“Tech companies should ensure safety and privacy by design in all products, alongside consistent application of policies and resources across countries and languages, with particular attention to the needs of those groups often targeted online,” the statement said.
“They should elevate crisis response and take measures to support information integrity around elections…advertisers should demand transparency in digital advertising processes from the tech sector to help ensure that ad budgets do not inadvertently fund disinformation or hate or undermine human rights,” it added.
GNA