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Countering disinformation while respecting universal access to information and freedom of expression
Fecha del evento:
Mar, 2020/09/29
Lugar del encuentro:
Online (Paris, France)
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 (Cross-Regional Statement 2020). They underlined that these responses should be based on Freedom of Expression, Freedom of the Press, and the promotion of Media and Information Literacy, as well as the “crucial need for access to free, reliable, trustworthy, factual, multilingual, targeted, accurate, clear and science-based information.”
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 (Cross-Regional Statement 2020). They underlined that these responses should be based on Freedom of Expression, Freedom of the Press, and the promotion of Media and Information Literacy, as well as the “crucial need for access to free, reliable, trustworthy, factual, multilingual, targeted, accurate, clear and science-based information.”
The need for action against disinformation also has been recognised by the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development. The Commission created a Working Group on Freedom of Expression and Addressing Disinformation that in turn commissioned a comprehensive global study in 2019 endorsed and launched in September 2020.
The resulting report, ‘Balancing Act: Countering Digital Disinformation While Respecting Freedom of Expression’, concludes that disinformation cannot be addressed in the absence of freedom of expression and access to information concerns, including privacy. It explains why actions to combat disinformation should support, and not violate, fundamental rights. It underlines that access to reliable and trustworthy information, such as that produced by critical independent journalism, is a counter to disinformation.
The main objective of the webinar will be to address the impacts of online disinformation on universal access to information, and join with authors and experts to highlight key findings and practical uses of the new Broadband Commission report.
Moderator:
- Guy Berger, UNESCO Director of Policies and Strategies in the field of Communication and Information
Speakers:
- Dr Hessa Al Jaber, chairperson of Trio Investment, Commissioner of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development
- Dr Julie Posetti, co-lead author of the report ‘Balancing Act: Countering Digital Disinformation while respecting Freedom of Expression’ of the Broadband Commission
- Ms Ritu Kapur, CEO of Quintillion Media
- Dr Herman Wasserman, Professor of Media Studies at the University of Cape Town, South Africa
- Piotr Dmochowski-Lipski, Executive Secretary of EUTELSAT IGO, Commissioner of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development.
To register for the ZOOM webinar, please click here
Time: Sep 29, 2020, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Contact: Joe Hironaka (j.hironaka@unesco.org)
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