OECD: fight against disinformation requires a systemic approach and strengthening the media

The fight against disinformation It should not fall only on the platforms, but that governments must adopt legislative frameworks that systemically protect information integrity without exercising “arbiters of truth”as well as strengthening the means, according to the OECD.

In a report published this Monday – the first on this problem – the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) advocates moving from ‘ad hoc’ measures on specific situations to a “systemic approach” based on factors such as promoting society’s resistance to the phenomenon or strengthening a sector of free and plural traditional media.

“No democracy can tackle this problem alone”Mathias Cormann, Secretary General of the OECD, also recalled during the presentation of the study, which could be followed online and in person at the Paris headquarters.

The majority of the organization’s 38 countries identify the fight against disinformation as a “priority” for the future, but only half of the 23 that have responded on this aspect already have at least one intergovernmental mechanism dedicated to coordinating efforts and identifying and responding to disinformation.

These include the French surveillance service Viginum, the United States Global Engagement Center or the National Commission against Disinformation established in May 2023 in Chile.

Another example of the need to increase efforts at the political level is that only nine of the countries with information (Australia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy and the United States) have already developed strategic documents to attack the problem. of misinformation.

A phenomenon that is not going to disappear

Regulatory efforts must be based on transparency, accountability and respect for plurality of voices, including those put in place to “mitigate the potential and current impacts of generative tools artificial intelligence”, which are another exponential risk for the growing phenomenon of misinformation.

“Maintaining fundamental civic freedoms and an open internet mean that misinformation will never completely disappear,” indicate the authors of the study, titled “Facts, not falsehoods. “Tackling misinformation, strengthening information integrity.”

They insist that it is a challenge that cannot fall solely on internet platforms or new technologies, nor be based solely on guides or voluntary codes of conduct, which “they are insufficient” to be “limited” by the degree of compliance that private actors choose to exercise.

The objective – they point out – is not “govern information” or be the “arbiter of truth”, but the public administrations “generate the conditions for an information ecosystem that safeguards the integrity of the information”.

Establishing these conditions at a systemic level is a long process that must also be complemented with agile response mechanisms against immediate threats, particularly in electoral contexts.

Strengthen the media

The OECD emphasizes with its proposals the role of the media as a fundamental tool in the fight against disinformation, in parallel to the focus on the actions of large internet platforms, which alone is insufficient.

For all these actors to have a positive contribution, experts suggest that governments should consider lines such as implementing policies to reinforce a ““diverse, plural and independent market for traditional media”support public service media and combat “foreign malignant interference in the information space.”

They are even committed to exploring avenues for direct and indirect financial support, such as special tax regimes for the media that meet specific criteria and help meet democratic objectives.

Another line of action on the part of governments must be to reinforce public participation, including academia and civil organizations. In this regard, the OECD highlights initiatives such as the Forum against Disinformation Campaigns in the field of National Security, held in Spain in 2023.