Minister [Jean-Noël ] Barrot,
Ambassadors, Colleagues, friends all,
A very warm welcome to the launch of this OECD report “Facts not Fakes: Tackling disinformation, strengthening information integrity.”
A special thank you to France and to the United States for your strong support of the OECD’s work in this area, including as co-chairs of the OECD Expert Group on Governance Responses to Mis- and Disinformation.
A strong and robust democracy is an essential foundation for good government.
Government which is accountable, transparent and responsive to the needs and concerns of its citizens, in a system that protects their rights and freedoms.
Press freedom is one of the fundamental pillars of a well-functioning democracy – allowing and facilitating the free flow of information and ideas.
2024 is a record year of elections around the world, a year when more than 2 billion voters across more than 50 countries will head to the polls.
In a well-functioning democracy, citizens are empowered to make meaningful choices, based on informed democratic debate, with access to diverse and independent sources of information.
Deliberate mis- and disinformation fuels polarisation, undermines trust in public institutions and processes and can have a harmful effect on the integrity of elections.
While not a new phenomenon, the risks from disinformation are rapidly evolving.
New threats are emerging from domestic and foreign malign actors using generative AI to spread disinformation campaigns and disrupt democratic debate.
Tackling disinformation must never be about controlling information.
We need a sound, appropriately well-balanced policy approach to ensure citizens have the benefit of an open and robust information environment in which they can debate freely and build consensus.
Free, open and robust debate is fundamental to tackling the complex policy challenges of our time.
By the same token, no single democracy can solve the problem of rising disinformation on its own.
However, every democracy and support independent and diverse journalism, encourage accountability and transparency of online platforms and help build citizens’ media literacy, to encourage critical consumption of content, to address the challenges associated with disinformation and their corrosive effect on trust.
This report provides the first baseline assessment of how OECD governments are upgrading their governance measures to reinforce information integrity, prioritising freedom of expression and human rights, and sets out a policy framework for countries to address this global challenge.
First, by enhancing the transparency, accountability, and plurality of information sources.
Access to diverse and independent sources of information, and free and open discourse are all needed to enable informed democratic debate.
Laws that limit market concentration and promote the diversity and transparency of media ownership through anti-trust and fair competition rules would help strengthen the political independence of traditional media.
We also need new tools to address AI-generated disinformation such as deep fakes and political micro-targeting to counter disinformation online, including from foreign interference.
The OECD is teaming up with international partners, to initiate a Global Challenge to Build Trust in the Age of Generative AI, by bringing together policy-makers, researchers, experts and practitioners to test innovative approaches to counter AI-based automation of disinformation.
Second, by equipping individuals with the skills and knowledge to effectively identify disinformation, and fostering skills development within public administrations.
On average, across OECD countries, only around half of 15-year-old students have been taught strategies in school to detect whether information online is subjective or biased – to help critical assessment of content, identification of biases and higher-quality sources, and ability to well-informed decisions.
Information-processing skills, like the ability to critically evaluate the quality of information, will be particularly important, including for public officials.
Among the countries surveyed in the report, 90% indicated that building the capacity of public officials to track and respond to disinformation threats is a priority for the future, though so far only 65% reported having regular and specialised training on countering disinformation.
Canada, for example, has developed Guiding Principles on Diversity of Content Online as part of its Digital Citizen Initiative, which helps build resilience to disinformation and misinformation and develop an evidence base to inform policy making.
Further efforts will be needed to strengthen media, information and digital literacy programmes that help people acquire the skills to engage critically and meaningfully online and offline.
Third, by strengthening institutional frameworks, including through international co-operation.
To effectively address the rapidly evolving information environment and build agile policy responses to emerging disinformation threats, adequate governance and institutional arrangements are needed.
This includes creating new institutions that can better coordinate public communication response, enable prompt information-sharing and avoid duplication of efforts.
For example, France established VIGINUM in 2021 – a national agency to combat foreign information manipulation – and through which its investigations have been able to publicly exposed multiple foreign digital interference campaigns.
Because information flows know no border, enhanced international cooperation is also necessary, and a means to improve responses informed by other experiences and lessons learned.
The OECD Reinforcing Democracy Initiative, including the Dis/Mis Resource Hub, aims to do just that, by providing governments with a platform to share experiences and policy best practices.
Looking ahead, the results of our next OECD Trust Survey, expected in June, will help inform policy discussions on the links between information integrity and trust in government.
We look forward to supporting governments in their efforts to form a sound appropriately well-balanced policy approach, to ensure citizens have the benefit of that open and robust information environment, which serves to strengthen citizens’ trust and reinforces democracy.
