United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday encouraged governments around the world to “curb hate speech and disinformation spreading online” through a global censorship framework.
Guterres said “unchecked digital platforms” are amplifying “humanity's worst impulses” and threatening global stability and peace, and that “global digital platforms” are being developed to silence speech that world governments deem threatening. He suggested that he is calling for support for United Nations programs such as the Compact. He said the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said a global intervention to “educate” online social influencers on how to avoid “misinformation” was an “urgent” priority. The statement was made on the same day as the statement. In early 2023, UNESCO launched a major campaign to push for global censorship regulations to silence “hate speech,” which it describes as “insects that thrive in the dark” online discussion that violates the UN's speech code.
Most recently, United Nations leaders used their platform at this month's G20 summit to urge the world's most powerful economies to silence “disinformation” through a program promoting “information integrity on climate change.” I applied pressure. The United Nations collaborated on this effort with Brazil's radical leftist president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Brazil's government is leading a massive and violent effort to use the court system and police raids to intimidate and silence conservative voices online.
Guterres made the comments on Tuesday at the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Global Forum, held this year in his native Portugal. alliance I will explain As such, it will serve as a “unique and inclusive platform for Member States, the private sector, young people, civil society and the media to exchange views and engage in dialogue and new partnerships.” The UN Secretary-General listed silencing “disinformation” as the event's second priority.
“We must curb hate speech and disinformation spreading online,” he said. declared. “Hateful fervor perpetuates stereotypes and misconceptions. Misinformation and outright lies fuel particularly disgusting anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim bigotry, and attacks on minority Christian communities. .”
Guterres also warned that artificial intelligence is allowing the rapid spread of “hate speech” and amplifying “humanity's worst impulses.” To solve this problem, he suggested countries could sign up to UN initiatives such as the Global Principles for Information Security and the Global Digital Compact.
President Guterres announced the Global Digital Compact, a plan to implement global legislation to combat “hatred and lies in the digital space” in June 2023.
“The spread of hate and lies in the digital space is causing serious harm globally. This clear and present global threat requires clear and coordinated global action. “We do not have a moment to delay,” he said at the time. The deal would also give the UN an unspecified role in supporting police “disinformation” during elections, as proposed in 2023.
Mr. Guterres concluded his comments at Tuesday's Alliance Conference event by declaring, “We must continue to work on strengthening global governance.”
“In these turbulent times, too many people assume that our differences must define us,” he asserted. “But the most powerful force is the recognition that we are united by a common destiny rather than divided by individual identities.”
UNESCO held a separate event on Tuesday, calling for “urgent” efforts to spread “fact-checking” on social media and target social media influencers to identify and combat “disinformation”. Focused on plans to hold classes that teach how to. of guardian, write In a report released by UNESCO this week on online disinformation, the UN agency said it was particularly concerned about how infrequently social media influencers participate in fact-checking the content they ultimately publish.
“The low uptake of fact-checking highlights their vulnerability to misinformation, which could have far-reaching implications for public discourse and trust in the media,” UNESCO said in a statement. I am doing it. “The pervasive lack of rigorous critical evaluation of information highlights the urgent need to improve creators’ media information literacy skills.”
UNESCO divides its campaigns against suspected “misinformation” and “disinformation” into themes. On November 19, the agency joined the Brazilian government at the G20 summit. debuted Called the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change, it aims to “strengthen research and action to combat disinformation that seeks to slow and derail climate action.” There is.
Speaking at the event, Brazilian President Lula lamented “denial and disinformation” as a global problem that new initiatives will tackle at the international level.
Brazil's left has dramatically expanded its censorship of dissident voices even before Lula returned to power for a third term in January 2023. In 2020, under conservative President Jair Bolsonaro, the country's Supreme Court ordered violent raids against 29 of the president's supporters, including journalists. , comedian, and online influencer were arrested on suspicion of participating in a “fake news” violation. Former Conservative Party congressman Daniel Silveira was sentenced to eight years in prison while still in office for publishing a YouTube video criticizing the Supreme Court. Under Lula's government, Brazil banned social media platform Twitter until owner Elon Musk accepted widespread censorship demands from the Brazilian government.
G20 organizer Lula appears to have succeeded in persuading the group to add “misinformation” language to the joint declaration at this year's summit.
“[T]The digitization of the information realm and the accelerated evolution of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are dramatically impacting the speed, scale, and scope of misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, and other forms of online harm. “,” the joint declaration reads. . “In this sense, we emphasize the need for transparency and accountability of digital platforms in line with relevant policies and applicable legal frameworks, and we cooperate with platforms and relevant stakeholders in this regard. I will go.”
