Basil Jarrett | Tackling fake news: The call for action

LIKE MOST onlookers watching the ongoing discussion on the inter-related issues of information integrity, press freedom and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on our day-to-day lives, recent events have been most interesting.

Last Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres launched a set of United Nations Global Principles for Information Integrity that calls for “an information environment that champions human rights and a sustainable future”. Guterres issued an urgent call for all nations, including Jamaica, to address the spread of misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech online, and provided a roadmap for creating a healthier information environment.

The self-titled, Global Principles for Information Integrity are founded on five core tenets: societal trust and resilience, independent, free, and pluralistic media, healthy incentives, transparency and research, and public empowerment. The charter aims to create an information environment that champions human rights, sustainable development, and the integrity of truth.

UN PRINCIPLES FOR INFORMATION INTEGRITY

The first principle, building societal trust and resilience, asks countries to foster a culture of critical thinking and media literacy among the public, encouraging responsible information sharing, and promoting fact-checking practices to help individuals discern credible information from falsehoods. Simple enough. The second principle highlights the importance of maintaining an independent, free, and pluralistic media landscape and calls for the protection of journalists from harassment and intimidation, financial support for independent media outlets, and the establishment of legislation and regulatory bodies to uphold high journalistic standards and ensure media pluralism. I found this one very interesting in light of recent threats to our media and reporters.

The third principle, promoting healthy incentives, aims to discourage the monetisation of harmful content. This principle advocates for policies that incentivise media organisations to adhere to high journalistic standards and promote fact-based reporting. It also calls for transparency in media ownership to prevent potential biases or conflicts of interest. It also encourages tech companies to design algorithms that prioritise credible sources over sensational content.

The fourth principle focuses on transparency and research. It emphasises the need for tech companies to develop and implement transparent algorithms that prioritise accurate and trustworthy information. It also calls for investment in technology that detects and removes harmful content efficiently and the establishment of regulatory frameworks to hold tech companies accountable for the information shared on their platforms. The fifth and final principle focuses on public empowerment, underscoring the need to empower citizens to demand their rights and access diverse views.

Together, these principles are aimed at providing a solid foundation for enhancing information integrity, ensuring a safer and more informed society, and supporting democracy, social cohesion, and sustainable development.

MEANWHILE, HERE IN JAMAICA

Guterres’ speech would have been interesting by itself. But a day before, Prime Minister Andrew Holness had put the topic front and centre in the public’s consciousness when he declared that those spreading fake news, misinformation and disinformation, especially on social media, would face the possibility of prosecution in the future. Adding to the mix is the recent Supreme Court decision in favour of PNP General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell, who had sued social media bloggers Karen Cross, Natalee Slack and Michelle Stern for defamation.

I welcome Guterres’ announcement, as I do the prime minister’s vow to strengthen laws to prosecute persons who deliberately defame, malign and injure a person’s reputation, while hiding behind the veil of social media. And while lawsuits are expensive and take a long time, I strongly encourage anyone who has been deliberately and publicly defamed to pursue their defamers to the maximum extent of the law. By all means, show them no mercy. The question to my mind, however, is how can Guterres’ principles help Jamaica to preserve information integrity in the first place. You know, since prevention is better than cure.

BUILDING SOCIETAL TRUST AND RESILIENCE

Guterres’ first principle is that building societal trust and resilience is essential for countering misinformation and disinformation. This is critical. In Jamaica today, fostering a culture of critical thinking and media literacy is absolutely necessary to combat some of the social ills that have accompanied this unprecedented information environment. Between our educational institutions and our homes, we must deliberately teach our citizens how to discern credible information from falsehoods. Additionally, public awareness campaigns that promote the importance of verifying information before sharing it must become an immediate priority.

INDEPENDENT, FREE, AND PLURALISTIC MEDIA

Guterres’ also pointed to a free and pluralistic media as a crucial part of any healthy democracy. A lot has been debated about our press freedom in recent times, but Jamaica should continue to support and strengthen its media institutions by ensuring they operate without undue influence from nefarious characters. This includes providing financial support for independent media outlets and protecting journalists like Giovanni Dennis from harassment and intimidation. Legislation should be enacted to better safeguard journalists’ rights in order to ensure that they can work freely and safely. At the same time, it may also be a good idea to increase the number of independent regulatory bodies that govern our media and set and maintain high journalistic standards.

HEALTHY INCENTIVES, TRANSPARENCY AND RESEARCH

To combat the spread of harmful content online, Guterres suggests that we should also look to promote healthy incentives for both media and tech companies by creating policies that discourage the monetisation of disinformation and hate speech. This is probably a bit out of Jamaica’s reach as tech and social media companies enjoy revenues that probably embarrass our national budget, but Jamaica should look to support international policies that pressure tech companies to design algorithms that prioritise credible sources over sensational or misleading content.

A far cry yes I know. In the meantime, however, there are lower-hanging fruit that we could explore, such as offering tax incentives or grants to media organisations that adhere to high journalistic standards and promote fact-based reporting. Additionally, transparency in media ownership should be enforced in order to ensure that the public is aware of any potential biases or conflicts of interest in the news and content that we consume. A pipe dream? Perhaps.

PUBLIC EMPOWERMENT AND PARTICIPATION

Finally, Guterres highlighted the empowerment of the public to demand their right to access a range of views and opinions. Here, we should look to support civil society organisations and grassroots movements that advocate for information integrity and greater transparency in our reporting.

Look, I get it. We are living in a whole new world today. And notice I haven’t even touched on the subject of AI and its impact on everything I’ve just written. But unless we start to be deliberate in how we confront and manage this new normal, we run the real risk of losing our very sense of reality with each passing day.

Major Basil Jarrett is a communications strategist and CEO of Artemis consulting, a communications consulting firm specialising in crisis communications and reputation management. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Threads @IamBasilJarrett and linkedin.com/in/basiljarrett or visit www.thecrisismajor.com. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.