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Tag: disinformation

  • EU Warns Google and YouTube About Israel-Hamas Disinformation

    EU Warns Google and YouTube About Israel-Hamas Disinformation

    EU reminds Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai to remove disinformation related to Israel-Hamas conflict on YouTube

    European Commissioner Thierry Breton has sent a letter to Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, reminding him about the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) to keep illegal content and disinformation from being shared on YouTube related to the Israel-Hamas war.

    In the letter, also addressed to YoutTube CEO Neal Mohan, Breton said that following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, “we are seeing a surge of illegal content and disinformation being disseminated in the EU via certain platforms”.

    “I would like to remind you that you have a particular obligation to protect the millions of children and teenagers using your platforms in the EU from violent content depicting hostage taking and other graphic videos,” the commissioner said late on Friday.

    It means having appropriate and proportionate measures in place to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors, he added.

    Breton has already warned X, Meta and TikTok on removing terrorist propaganda and manipulated content, such as repurposed videos or clickbaits, from their respective platforms.

    He told Pichai that “when you receive notices of illegal content in the EU, you must be timely, diligent and objective in taking action and removing the relevant content when warranted”.

    “Given the urgency, I also expect you to be in contact with the relevant law enforcement authorities and Europol and ensure that you respond promptly to their requests,” said Breton.

    In the context of elections, he told Pichai that the DSA requires that the risk of amplification of fake and manipulated images and facts generated with the intention to influence elections is taken extremely seriously in the context of mitigation measures.

    “I invite you to inform my team on the details of the measures you have taken to mitigate any deepfakes, also in the light of upcoming elections in Poland, The Netherlands, Lithuania, Belgium, Croatia, Romania and Austria, and the European Parliament elections,” said Breton.

    “As you know, following the opening of a potential investigation and a finding of non-compliance, penalties can be imposed,” he added.

    Earlier, Meta said that since the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel and Israel’s response in Gaza, “expert teams from across our company have been working around the clock to monitor our platforms, while protecting people’s ability to use our apps to shed light on important developments happening on the ground”.

    “In the three days following October 7, we removed or marked as disturbing more than 795,000 pieces of content for violating these policies in Hebrew and Arabic,” the social network said in a blog post.

    As compared to the two months prior, in the three days following October 7, “we have removed seven times as many pieces of content on a daily basis for violating our Dangerous Organisations and Individuals policy in Hebrew and Arabic alone,” Meta added.

    ALSO READ: UN Chief Warns Against Relocation of Gaza Residents

  • EU urged to stem disinformation and propaganda

    EU urged to stem disinformation and propaganda

    The debate was moderated by Manel Msalmi, international Affairs advisor and president of the European Association for The Defense of Minorities with high level speakers mainly Claude Moniquet, former French intelligence agent and director of the European Strategic intelligence and security center, Nigel Goodrich CEO of IMPAC, Giuliana Franciosa expert ln communication, Carlo Corazza director Italy office of the European Parliament.

    Human rights activists, academics, politicians and media experts support a call to regulate the disinformation and propaganda campaigns which jeopardise democratic process.

    They were attending a conference entitled “The fight against Disinformation and Propaganda, ” at the European Parliament. The event was organised by EPP group with the participation of human rights organisations and experts in the field, The European Times reported.

    The session ended with the conclusion that the fight against disinformation should be regulated by EU legislations to guarantee both human rights as well as freedom of speech. They call to avoid tragic incidents and the killings of human rights activists in conflict zones or in exile as well as educate the new generations to make the difference between fake news and true information.

    The debate was moderated by Manel Msalmi ,international Affairs advisor and president of the European Association for The Defense of Minorities with high level speakers mainly Claude Moniquet, former French intelligence agent and director of the European Strategic intelligence and security center, Nigel Goodrich CEO of IMPAC, Giuliana Franciosa expert ln communication, Carlo Corazza director Italy office of the European Parliament.

    Lucia Vuolo, Isabella Adinolfi and Francesca Peppucci as well as Italian Senator Roberta Toffanin were guest speakers and intervened on the issue by sharing their thoughts regarding the possible measures that the EU parliament and the EU commission can implement to fight against Disinformation and to put a legal framework to fight against propaganda.

    Manel Msalmi introduced the debate by pointing out the complexity of the issue of disinformation and the different tools that the EU has already taken to tackle disinformation in an attempt to protect European and democratic values. She also raised the issue of human rights activists who might be targeted following some disinformation reports. This was the case of Karima Baloch who was killed in Canada, Sajid Hussain Baloch who was killed in Sweden and a lot of activists involved in the Baloch cause who were intimidated right after the EU Disinfo Lab report was released. A report which put their lives in danger.

    Claude Moniquet said: “There is an obvious continuity between disinformation – the Russians prefer to speak of “active measures”, in Russian, “aktivnye meropriyatiya”, an expression that covers disinformation, offensive espionage and subversion – as it was practiced in the Soviet era and that which is implemented by the Putin regime: it is, then as now, to do everything to undermine the Western democracies and dislocate the alliance between North America and Europe in order to implode NATO. What has changed is not the spirit of disinformation but the means used. Where yesterday, it was necessary to apply complex methods, new information technologies allow, today, to flood the Internet and especially social networks which have become the main source of information for many citizens in the West, especially among the youth.”

    Another evolution of Russian disinformation in recent years has been the search for new political channels to spread it. During the Cold War, it was mostly communist, far-left or pacifist circles that were used by Moscow. But from now on, the Russian disinformation apparatus relies much more on certain circles of the extra-parliamentary far-right. But the same actors are at work as before: the external intelligence services (today, the SVR) and the military ones (the GRU). And at their head, as well as at the head of their main means of action, we still find men and women belonging to the first circle of Vladimir Putin and taking their orders directly from the Kremlin.”

    Nigel Goodrich mentioned that “To be pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel is the new polarising middle ground where, due to sustained ideological disinformation and propaganda driven by the media, academia, state actors, NGOs and trades unions, there is no longer room for dialogue. The best solution to this threat to our democratic future is to teach critical thinking in schools, such that young people learn about different perspectives, thereby giving dialogue (hence peace and coexistence) a chance”

    Shreya Kaushik, an activist and a representative of the Indian diaspora in Belgium pointed out that “Disinformation is a wide spread issue, it is plain information overload or information chaos. If we talk about the solution to this, as a whole we must work on educational reforms to eradicate such evils from the society so the individuals can judge the authenticity of any information. There is no way to sift the information other than strengthening the education system and thats the need of the hour”

    Giuliana Franciosa, an expert in Communication explained the different concepts in relation to misinformation and how to counter it as well as the need to check the disinformation reports mainly those which do not come from EU or international institutions.

    “The issue of impersonation by the EU Disinfo Lab for example, where in the EU prefix can be misleading and people can believe that it is a legitimate wing under the European Union institutions.”

    ALSO READ: UK Varsities Become Tools For Chinese Propaganda

  • Bilawal says disinformation is the new pandemic

    Bilawal says disinformation is the new pandemic


    Disinformation has often justified and intensified the violations of human rights, Bilawal said, adding that hybrid warfare pursued through disinformation is often the opening salvo of intervention and conflict…reports Asian Lite News

     In this information age, disinformation has emerged as a global pandemic, and like many other countries, Pakistan has been a victim of targeted campaigns of disinformation, Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said.

    The Foreign Minister made the remarks on Thursday while addressing virtually the meeting of the Group of Friends on Countering Disinformation for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in New York.

    “The exponential proliferation of disinformation, especially through online platforms and social media, has spread social discord and fostered hate speech, racism, discrimination, xenophobia, and inter-state tensions and conflict,” Zardari added.

    Disinformation has often justified and intensified the violations of human rights, he said, adding that hybrid warfare pursued through disinformation is often the opening salvo of intervention and conflict, Xinhua news agency reported.



    This pandemic of disinformation must be confronted, countered and defeated at the national and international level, the Foreign Minister said.

    “We can succeed in doing so only through comprehensive international cooperation,” he added.

    Last week, describing Pakistan as “internationally isolated and disengaged”, Bilawal made a strong pitch for re-engagement with India, asking whether cutting off ties with India served the nation’s interests, media reports said.

    “Does it serve our interests, do we achieve our objectives whatever they may be, be it Kashmir, be it rising Islamophobia, the Hindutva supremacist nature of the new regimes and the governments in India? Does it serve our objective that we have practically cut off all engagements,” asked Bilawal while speaking at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad, Express Tribune reported.

    “That I as foreign minister, as a representative of my country, not only speak to the Indian government but I don’t speak to the Indian people and is this the best way to communicate or achieve Pakistan’s objectives,” he added.

    There was some hope of rapprochement in February 2021 when the two countries renewed the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC). The truce is still holding, but the two sides could not agree on the next steps to resume talks.

    But with the change of government, there has been a renewed hope for some level of engagement. It is believed that some kind of “back channels” are active to find a way out of the current impasse.

    Against this backdrop, the statement of Foreign Minister Zardari indicates that there is an eagerness on the part of the current government to bring some shift, Express Tribune reported.

    ALSO READ: Pakistan finally secures deal with IMF

  • UK calls Russian channel RT as tool of Kremlin’s disinformation

    UK calls Russian channel RT as tool of Kremlin’s disinformation

    Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said in a letter to state media regulator Ofcom that she was concerned RT would seek to spread “harmful disinformation” about the Russia-Ukraine crisis…reports Asian Lite News

    Britain accused Russian news channel RT on Wednesday of being a tool of a Kremlin disinformation campaign and asked the UK media regulator to take action if needed after Russia recognised two rebel regions of eastern Ukraine.

    Russian officials say RT is a way for Moscow to compete with the dominance of global media companies based in the United States and Britain that Moscow says offer a partial view of the world.

    Critics say RT, which broadcasts news in English, Arabic, Spanish and German, is the propaganda arm of the Russian state and aims to undermine confidence in Western institutions.

    Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said in a letter to state media regulator Ofcom that she was concerned RT would seek to spread “harmful disinformation” about the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

    “While respecting Ofcom’s regulatory independence, I call on you to ensure your actions are timely and transparent to reassure the British public,” the letter said.

    Asked in parliament whether he would request Ofcom review RT’s licence, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he believed Dorries had asked the regulator to review that matter.

    Johnson’s spokesman, asked later if the government was looking to ban the channel, sought to clarify the prime minister’s remarks. “All the culture secretary is asking Ofcom (is to) take any appropriate action should there be any attempt to use Russia Today to spread disinformation,” he said.

    The Conservative prime minister had also said the regulator should make its own decisions.

    “We live in a country that believes in free speech,” Johnson told parliament. “And I think it’s important that we should leave it up to Ofcom rather than to politicians to decide which media organisations to ban – that’s what Russia does.”

    RT said British politicians seemed to be trying to meddle in the affairs of a regulator, undermining its independence.

    “The UK culture minister is now clearly directly interfering in institutions touted as supposedly wholly free from political pressure and influence,” Anna Belkina, RT’s deputy editor in chief, told Reuters.

    Belkina said despite political pressure Ofcom had found no breaches of the Broadcasting Code by RT in the past four years.

    ALSO READ-UK announces visa concessions for Ukrainians

  • Europe tightens grip on social media

    Europe tightens grip on social media

    The Code of Practice on Disinformation is the first of its kind worldwide and should be strengthened to become a more effective tool for countering disinformation, said the commission…reports Asian Lite News

    The European Commission on Wednesday published new guidelines to hold Facebook, Google, Twitter and other social media platforms accountable for disinformation shared on their respective platforms.

    The Code of Practice on Disinformation is the first of its kind worldwide and should be strengthened to become a more effective tool for countering disinformation, the commission said in a statement.

    The commission said that based on a robust monitoring framework and clear performance indicators, signatories should reduce financial incentives to disinformation, empower users to take an active role in preventing its spread, better cooperate with fact-checkers across EU Member States and languages, and provide a framework for access to data for researchers.

    Věra Jourová (Twitter)

    “Threats posed by disinformation online are fast evolving and we need to step up our collective action to empower citizens and protect the democratic information space,” said Vera Jourova, Vice President for Values and Transparency.

    ALSO READ: Facebook urged to scrap ‘Insta for kids’

    “A new stronger Code is necessary as we need online platforms and other players to address the systemic risks of their services and algorithmic amplification, stop policing themselves alone and stop allowing to make money on disinformation, while fully preserving the freedom of speech.”

    The Commission will call upon the signatories of the Code of Practice to convene and strengthen the Code in line with the Guidance.

    “Platforms and players in the online advertising ecosystem must take responsibility and better work together to defund disinformation, notably by exchanging information on disinformation ads refused by one of the signatories, improving transparency and accountability around ad placements and barring participation by actors that systematically post debunked content,” it said.

    Twitter said that it looks forward to continuing to work with the European Commission, civil society, and the public, “to offer meaningful transparency and choice, and to tackle the ever changing landscape of disinformation”.

    “We need to rein in the infodemic and the diffusion of false information putting people’s life in danger. Disinformation cannot remain a source of revenue,” said Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market.

    The strengthened code should also enhance the visibility of reliable information of public interest, and warn users who interacted with content marked as false by fact-checkers.

    ALSO READ: Twitter, Facebook likely to be blocked in India