UN survey: 85% of people are concerned about online disinformation

According to a global survey for which the United Nations has announced a plan to combat this phenomenon, more than 85% of people are concerned about the impact of online disinformation, and 87% believe it has already harmed their country's politics.

According to a report in The Guardian, Audrey Azoulay, director-general of the UN's cultural agency UNESCO, told reporters on Monday that online misinformation and hate speech, accelerated and amplified by social media platforms, pose "major risks to social cohesion, peace and stability."

While presenting a "governance plan" for governments, regulators, and platforms, Azoulay stated that regulation is urgently needed "to protect access to information while also protecting freedom of expression and human rights."

The organization said that a survey commissioned by UNESCO and conducted in 16 countries where national elections are scheduled for next year (involving a total of 2.5 billion voters) shows how urgent the need for effective regulation has become.

The survey, conducted by pollster Ipsos among 8,000 people in countries including Austria, Croatia, the US, Algeria, Mexico, Ghana, and India, yielded interesting results.

Although trust in the information it provides is much lower than that of traditional media, social media was the main source of news in almost every country: it was seen to have an advantage of 66% over television and 63% over radio.

In all 16 countries, 68% of those surveyed stated that they believe social media is where fake news is most prevalent.

Disinformation was overwhelmingly seen as a concrete threat, with 85% saying they were concerned about its impact. Eighty-seven percent said that disinformation has already had a major impact on national political life and will play a role in the 2024 elections.

UNESCO said its plan, based on seven core principles, emerged from a consultation process it described as "unprecedented" in the UN system, with more than 10,000 contributions collected from 134 countries over an 18-month period.

Guilherme Canela de Souza Godoi, head of UNESCO's freedom of expression section, said that more than 50 countries are already drafting regulations for social media, but that these are often not in line with international norms on freedom of expression and human rights.

UNESCO said at least one major platform has told the 194-member UN body that it would prefer a consistent global governance framework rather than a proliferation of national and regional systems. It plans to hold a World Conference of Regulators in 2024.