The EU Commission High Level Expert Group Report Fake News and Online Disinformation is now published on the Commission site. It defines disinformation as:

"Disinformation as defined in this Report includes all forms of false, inaccurate, or misleading information designer, presented and promoted to intentionally cause public harm or for profit." 

For the full Report go to: bit.ly/2FwMgFL

In response to the Report, Westminster Media Forum recently brought together leading professionals from the media industry in a keynote seminar Next steps for tackling fake news - impact, industry response and options for policy, 26th April, 2018, part of an ongoing programme of seminars on the digital media, for more http://bit.ly/2kz4spj.  I hope this post will amplify some of the ideas, help raise awareness, and encourage debate on the role of the media in the digital age.

Why Knowledge is Power           

Whilst it is largely accepted that younger generations are far more tech savvy, the majority of the population have relatively limited knowledge of new technologies. This makes a large proportion of the population vulnerable to how tech companies are using technologies to generate data to influence our thinking, eating habits, voting and much more.

Fake news, or online disinformation as it is now being termed, might not be a new concept, but it is a major concern.  Professor Richard Sambrook, Deputy Head of the School of Journalism, Cardiff University, highlighted the worrying online trend of opinion over evidence, supporting the creation of, "A narrative irrespective of what the facts may be."

The Development Director of the BBC School Report, Katie Lloyd, has been travelling around the UK speaking to pupils and teachers about media literacy.  The Media Literacy initiative aims to educate young people, and help develop critical and analytical thinking from a young age. But the general feeling around the country amongst teachers and pupils is that disinformation is an urgent problem.  Katie LIoyd and her team found that in practice, with misleading or paid for content, young people are far less able to spot planted stories.  Young people expressed a lack of understanding of why organisations would push out information that is purposefully incorrect. 

In March of this year, the BBC launched BBC iReporter. The online interactive game, developed by Academy Award-winning Aardman Studios, invites users to, "Get Ready to Make the Headlines!" Designed for 11 to 18 year olds, the game uses the fundamentals of journalism to guide the critical and analytical thinking of users. Test your BBC iReporter skills here: http://ow.ly/whuY30jNoHS

Safeguarding the Future: Highlights of Proposed Safeguards

Kathryn Geels, Policy, Strategy & Research Lead (Creative Industries) Digital Catapult and Media Innovation Consultant, highlighted the need for more transparency surrounding online advertising.  Currently, audiences have little or no control over the content they are seeing.  She suggested that, "Consumers need to understand more about how advertising works within media organisations." Understanding how it's done and why it's done could begin to grow a culture of transparency and trust between the users and the platforms.

In light of the perceived ramifications of online disinformation, it was proposed that tighter controls on advertising masquerading as news during elections could be introduced.  Trusted media brands could lead the way, with a system of labelling to distinguish news from opinion. 

The UK Head of Media at KPMG David Elms suggests that the 13% increase in public trust of established media brands recorded by The Edelman 2018 Trust Barometer offers an opportunity for media news brands to take a proactive approach in both investing in and promoting high-quality, fact-based journalism.

Dorothy Byrne, Head of News and Current Affairs at Channel 4, proposed more journalism outlining the consequences of fake news.  If people don't understand why they should care, consequential coverage could go some way to widening the debate.

The opinion within the media industry is that pursuing regulation will not solve the problem of online disinformation.  Ian Murray, Executive Director of the Society of Editors, highlighted the danger of politicians using the threat of fake news to push through regulation to silence voices they don't want to hear. 

The EU Commission Report recognises that online disinformation is, "A multi-faceted problem that does not have one single root cause and cannot therefore be addressed by a single measure." The Report recommends the, "establishment of a Coalition representing online platforms, news media organisations (including press and broadcasters) and civil society organisations with expertise in fact-checking," whose main task will be the definition of a multi-stakeholder Code of Practice to clarify the role of organisations, "in order to protect an enabling environment for freedom of expression while fostering the transparency and intelligibility of different types of digital information channels."

Wikipedia Co-founder, Jimmy Wales, described the Wikipedia platform as, "A community with a high degree of intellectual independence." They endeavour to uphold a robust system of fact-checking, only accepting information from reputable, verifiable sources. His latest crowd-funded venture, Wikitribune, is described on its website as, “A news platform with a new model for the news."  One of the innovative features is the facility for registered users to update news stories with information from reliable sources. 

Jimmy Wales expressed the idea that the ideal news service should be radical, in the sense of innovating ways to engage with its audience.

"He who prides himself on giving what he thinks the public wants is often creating a fictitious demand for low standards which he will then satisfy." 

John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, First Director General of the BBC

Post Contributor:

Caitriona Fitzsimons Digital Reporter