IGF 2020 WS #130 Election in times of disinformation

Information

Session

Time:

Friday, 13 November, 2020 - 11:20 to 12:50 UTC

Room:

Room 1

About this Session:

Co-organized by UNESCO and UNDP, this workshop underlines the essential role of the media and electoral stakeholders in ensuring trust during the election process, and the need to tackle disinformation through such means as monitoring and fact checking, journalistic investigation, actions by online platforms including technical responses, and through promoting media and information literacy.

Area:

Trust

Topic(s):

Democracy
Disinformation
Freedom of Expression

Organizer 1: Guilherme Canela Godoi , UNESCO
Organizer 2: Mehdi Benchelah, UNESCO
Organizer 3: Andrea Cairola, UNESCO
Organizer 4: Dan Malinovich, UNDP
Organizer 5: Malgorzata Wisniewska, UNDP
Organizer 6: Valdemar Satoshi Rojle Christensen, UNDP
Organizer 7: Samrita Menon, UNESCO

Speaker 1: Guy Berger, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization
Speaker 2: Sarah Lister, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization
Speaker 3: Mathilde Vougny, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization
Speaker 4: Souhaieb Khayati, Civil Society, African Group
Speaker 5: Laura Zommer, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Speaker 6: William Bird, Civil Society, African Group

Moderator:

Mehdi Benchelah, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization

Online Moderator:

Dan Malinovich, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization

Rapporteur:

Andrea Cairola, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization

Format:

Debate - Auditorium - 90 Min

Policy Question(s):

1. What can be the role of each stakeholder (including electoral management bodies, audiovisual regulatory bodies, Internet platforms, electoral observers from CSOs and from IGOs, and journalists) to tackle the challenge of disinformation and to keep trust in the election process?

2. In light of the current and unprecedented global crisis brought upon by the COVID-19 outbreak, how can free, fair, and safe elections be ensured in the face of a pandemic?

Issues, Challenges and Opportunities addressed:

Elections constitute a key moment in political life as they allow citizens to express their choices and designate the political representatives who will determine important aspects of the present and future of their countries. Because of their critical importance, election periods are also a time where disinformation (so called “fake news”) can proliferate, with the aim of misleading the public and propagating false information about various issues and interests. Electoral disinformation also may be criminalized in disproportionate or arbitrary ways.

In addition, the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus has given rise to a new challenge: how to ensure free, fair, and safe elections in the face of a pandemic? To that effect, the proposed session shall seek:

1. To discuss good practices and lessons learnt that already took place in all regions of the world on how to deal with the impacts of disinformation (particular the one circulating in social media), and other health crisis, in the electoral processes;

2. To debate policies aiming to keep trust in the election process and the role for each stakeholder to tackle this challenge, particularly in relation with legitimate actions to combat disinformation, including during a health crisis;

3. To discuss alternative ways of organizing an election (including ways of voting and campaigning) in times of a pandemic.

SDGs:

GOAL 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Description:

The proposed debate will use a multistakeholder approach – through the participation inter alia of electoral management bodies or practitioners, audiovisual regulatory bodies, Internet platforms, electoral observers (from CSOs and from IGOs), and journalists – in tackling the question of elections in times of disinformation. In so doing, the discussions will involve a debate on policies aiming to keep trust in the election process, and the role of each stakeholder to tackle this challenge, particularly in relation with fighting disinformation.

In addition, given the current and unprecedented global crisis brought upon by the COVID-19 outbreak, the issue of online and mobile voting will also be addressed, in order to discuss alternative ways of organizing elections (including alternative ways to vote and campaign) that would minimize contact and exposure in the context of a pandemic.

Expected Outcomes:

Taking into account the aforementioned issues, the session envisions the following expected results:

1. Enhancing the participation of electoral management bodies, audiovisual regulatory bodies, Internet platforms, electoral observers (from CSOs and from IGOs), and journalists in the Internet governance debate;

2. Awareness raised by the aforementioned stakeholders and the public on freedom of expression standards, strategies to address the disinformation phenomenon and good practices in times of elections;

3. Fostering South-South and North-South cooperation among existing networks of electoral management bodies, political leaders, Internet platforms, electoral observers (from CSOs and from IGOs) and journalists on Internet governance issues.

Relevance to Internet Governance

Internet Governance is, by definition, a multistakeholder endeavor. However, within the different aggregated groups normally joining the discussion (governments, for instance) we also have a multiplicity of other players that are relevant to the debate, but quite often aren’t part of it.

Electoral authorities, electoral observers (from CSOs and from IGOs), and journalists have a key role to play in tackling disinformation while defending freedom of expression and access to information during times of election, and building trust within the population in order to ensure free and fair elections. This session, which focuses on elections in times of disinformation, seeks to bring their perspective to the Internet Governance arena.

Relevance to Theme

A free, independent and pluralistic media landscape plays an important role in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Sustainable Development Goal 16.10 on peace, justice and strong institutions. It is also crucial to democracy, particularly during electoral periods. Without a free press, there can be no democracy.

Keeping trust in the election process – and the information being shared during this process - is a fundamental prerequisite to ensure free, fair, and safe elections. Therefore, this workshop underlines the essential role of the media and electoral stakeholders in ensuring trust during the election process, and the need to tackle disinformation through such means as monitoring and fact checking, journalistic investigation, actions by online platforms including curatorial and technical responses, and through promoting media and information literacy.

Discussion Facilitation:

The session is conceived as a talk-show, with a strong role being played by the moderators in involving the invited speakers and audience in contributing to the achievement of the key expected outcomes of the session.

Online Participation:

Usage of IGF Official Tool.

Reference Document

Agenda:

Introductory remarks (10min):

Mr. Guy Berger, UNESCO Director of the Division for Communication and Information Strategy and Policy ; and Ms Sarah Lister, UNDP Head of Governance.

Multi-regional perspective (45 min):

Electoral observers (from CSOs and from IGOs), networks of fact-checkers and journalists from Africa, Europe and Latin America will present their achievements in tackling the question of disinformation and the challenge in organizing or covering elections during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Open debate with the audience (30min).

Report

1. Key Policy Questions and related issues:

1. Disinformation is not a new phenomenon and has existed throughout history, including in periods of elections, but what are some of its new aspects, and how does it affect the work of stakeholders such as fact-checkers, the media and civil society organisations?

2. What are some good practices that are being implemented to tackle this issue, especially in the context of elections?

3. How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the electoral process (for instance with the increase of mail-in-ballots voting but also digitalization with online and mobile voting) and increased the risk of disinformation during this process?

2. Summary of Issues Discussed:

This session on ‘Elections in times of disinformation’ covered three key aspects of disinformation that pose new challenges to democracies and inclusive governance including the expanding volume of information being produced, its geographical scope and reach, and the rapidly changing information landscape. The expert speakers discussed the role of new communication strategies used by political candidates, micro-targeting political messages on mobile devices, and undermining traditional media, as some of the main factors causing electoral mistrust today.

In terms of good practices and recommendations to fight the spread of disinformation, the session underscored the importance of agile channels of coordination and communication across all media and electoral stakeholders, especially at the national level. There is a crucial need for widespread media and information literacy to empower audiences and citizens with the accurate tools to stop the repetitive sharing of falsehoods. The speakers also cautioned against excessively restricting legitimate expression and encouraging a robust public debate through evidence-based content moderation and fact-checking.

Concluding with a discussion of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on elections, a key takeaway was that building trust in public institutions such as electoral commissions is a major factor that determines the credibility of elections. Most countries are continuing to host elections with precautionary health measures in place. Therefore, information about essential sanitary measures and health information must be communicated accurately and in a timely manner, to conduct elections smoothly.

3. Key Takeaways:

This session presented the current trends and aspects of disinformation and their effect on elections and recommended a set of good practices to tackle the spread of disinformation in electoral periods, particularly in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The exchanges highlighted the essential role of journalists and electoral stakeholders in ensuring trust during the election process.

Drawing a contrast with traditional media, the panelists identified three key aspects that pose new challenges to democracies and inclusive governance:

The unprecedented increase in information sharing and a significant shift in the way people are exchanging information and engaging with others;
Its geographical scope and reach; and
The rapidly changing information landscape with information related to elections flowing faster and easier than ever.

The panel of experts underlined the need for agile means of communication, coordination, and collaboration across multiple stakeholders of the media and electoral processes, accompanied by a framework of accountability, notably for social media companies. The speakers also cautioned against excessively restricting legitimate expression and encouraging a robust public debate through evidence-based content moderation.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, elections have adapted to new restrictions and nationally issued health guidelines. Consequently, trust in public electoral bodies, and quality journalism emerged as key factors to deter the viral spread of disinformation. The discussion also emphasized the role of media literacy for audiences and encouraged improved research and the development of new technologies to respond rapidly to the spread of disinformation.

4. Policy Recommendations or Suggestions for the Way Forward:

What policy sector(s) does this fall under? (leave blank if not sure):

Overarching governance issues

Issue and Recommendation:

1. Adopting a multi-stakeholder approach is essential to ensure that a whole network of checks against disinformation is in place. This means that, in effect, the fight against disinformation demands a robust framework of accountability, for political actors and social media companies alike.

Who should take it?:

Government bodies, journalists and media workers, fact-checking services, social media companies, civil society actors, international organisations as well as an informed and empowered citizenry.

What policy sector(s) does this fall under? (leave blank if not sure):

Overarching governance issues

Issue and Recommendation:

2. Undertaking in-depth research into the contextual factors leading to disinformation will combat disinformation over the long-term. The session uncovered how each national context differs from the other and concluded that more research can enable a greater understanding of how disinformation plays on behavioural factors, like personal biases in an increasingly polarized world. Consequently, more technological solutions must be developed to identify this disinformation rapidly, assess its impact and resonance, and to counter it with accurate information.

Who should take it?:

Government bodies, civil society organizations, the media and academia

What policy sector(s) does this fall under? (leave blank if not sure):

Overarching governance issues

Issue and Recommendation:

3. Protecting a free and plural press, while building capacities for ethical and quality journalism is an essential response to disinformation. As a complementary recommendation, media and information literacy initiatives must be strengthened to empower citizens to deter the repetitive sharing of falsehoods.

Who should take it?:

Media outlets and independent journalists, government bodies and security forces and civil society organisations.

5. Other Initiatives Addressing the Session Issues:

Initiative:

Guy Berger, UNESCO’s Director for Strategy and Policy, in his opening remarks, said that it is not possible to have genuine elections without having a free flow of information, and thus, disinformation compromises both the fundamental right to vote as well as the freedom of expression. He listed five types of responses to disinformation in relation to elections: (i) regulatory or self-regulatory limits on advertising and promoting credible sources; (ii) fact-checking; (iii) voter education intersecting with media and information literacy; (iv) collaborative media responses; and (v) ethical code of conduct among political actors.

Initiative:

With regard to formulating a response to viral disinformation, Sara Lister, Head of Governance at UNDP, highlighted the importance of coordinated and sustained action by multiple stakeholders including electoral bodies, media, civil society, political parties, and technology companies. She emphasized that the growing ease of access to digitalized information makes electoral processes particularly vulnerable, and elections as a cornerstone of inclusive governance must be protected from the dangers of disinformation.

Initiative:

Mathilde Vougny, Programme Specialist, Elections, EC-UNDP Joint Task Force on Electoral Assistance, shared information related to their new initiative on identifying and mitigating phenomenon of disinformation during elections being developed and piloted currently in Zambia. The focus of this initiative is to combine the use of technological solutions (currently under development) and strengthened multi-stakeholders coordination structures to ensure: 1) monitoring of social and online media is integrated/ linked into existing violence monitoring systems, 2) both state and non-state actors are involved at the national level in analyzing and providing responses to disinformation phenomenon.

Initiative:

Laura Zommer, Executive and Editor-in-Chief at Chequeado, the first initiative of fact-checking and verification of public discourse in Latin America, provided the example of a successful collaborative project on electoral disinformation, called Reverso. She highlighted how over 120 media entities responded to false information with evidence-based facts in the 2019 presidential election in Argentina. Moreover, they notified the authorities of prevailing information gaps in the field and invited them to publish official communications as required. She notably added that, according to a recent independent research conducted by the Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Computational Social Science (ILCSS), while fact-checking and content moderation do not change people’s minds, they do change people’s behavior in deterring them from re-sharing falsehoods.

Initiative:

Souhaib Khayati from Reporters without Borders, gave the example of their work on capacity-building among journalists in North Africa, notably in Tunisia. He pointed to the central role of ethical and quality journalism in providing an alternative to the viral spread of disinformation by political candidates.

Initiative:

William Bird also shared the example of a public complaints’ platform called Real411, initiated by Media Monitoring Africa established in South Africa, that has been tracking disinformation trends on digital platforms. Citizens can submit instances on digital media that are believed to be disinformation, which can be removed from the digital platform after a review process. They can also alert the authorities or involve the judicial courts through the complaints’ platform. William Bird added that the platform works in partnership with multiple stakeholders like the electoral commission, media partners and UNESCO, which ensures that all content is adjudicated according to similar principles, and in adherence to the rule of law.

6. Final Speakers:

Laura Zommer, Executive and Editor-in-Chief at Chequeado, the first initiative of fact-checking and verification of public discourse in Latin America
Mathilde Vougny, Programme Specialist, Elections, EC-UNDP Joint Task Force on Electoral Assistance
Souhaib Khayati, Director of the North African Bureau, Reporters without Borders
William Bird, Director of Media Monitoring Africa.

7. Reflection to Gender Issues:

The session discussed several types of disinformation, and its impact on internet users and audiences, which has an important implication on issues of gender. Disinformation is not always in the form of data, but it can also be a picture taken out of context to incite people. False facts and distorted images can also be used to harass and humiliate women, including female politicians, public personalities, and journalists. The speakers explored content moderation and fact-checking as ways to tackle such forms of disinformation online.

8. Session Outputs:

2. Awareness raised by the aforementioned stakeholders and the public on freedom of expression standards, strategies to address the disinformation phenomenon and good practices in times of elections.

3. Fostering cooperation among existing networks of electoral management bodies, political leaders, Internet platforms, electoral observers (from CSOs and from IGOs) and journalists on Internet governance issues.

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IGF 2020 WS #130 Election in times of disinformation

Information