Amid Rise in False Narratives, Global Communications Department Ensuring Information Integrity of UN’s Work, Says Under-Secretary-General, as Committee Opens Session
The Department of Global Communications engages global audiences not just on the state of a world troubled by spreading pollution, inequality, hate and violence, but also on “the solutions that are out there”, its top official told the Committee on Information during the opening of its forty-sixth session today, as delegates highlighted the need to combat disinformation through facts communicated by the United Nations across and beyond its six official languages.
Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, noted that the Department’s work “is getting harder year by year”. Disinformation has polluted information ecosystems on an unprecedented scale, and artificial-intelligence tools are now being deployed to circulate false, misleading and hateful narratives. By design, this often limits the reach of reliable information, creating a feedback loop — loss of trust produces fertile ground for disinformation, which then erodes trust further. “It is into this maelstrom that we must communicate for a better world,” she stressed.
Detailing the Department’s considerable work across numerous contexts, she reported that — through news, campaigns and outreach activities — it reaches millions of people to both show them ways to get involved and build support for the United Nations. She stressed that it is the UN’s responsibility to remind people – in these times of global division – that the Organization continues to protect human rights, eradicate disease, save lives through humanitarian action, shape the norms of international development, pave the way for environmental protection and work to mitigate conflict. “We will not give up on this mission,” she said.
Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon (Pakistan), Chair of the Committee’s forty-sixth session, noting that that even the UN has been targeted by attacks on its credibility and impartiality, highlighted the Committee’s vital role in ensuring accurate, reliable and timely information. “The most effective cure to the pandemic of disinformation and hate speech is an informed and empowered global community,” he said, spotlighting efforts by the Department to ensure information integrity.
In the general debate that followed, many Member States observed that the proliferation of fake news, disinformation and misinformation on online platforms — including social media — is exacerbating discrimination, hate speech and racism. To address this, they underlined the need for the United Nations to produce factual content in equal quantity across — at a minimum — the Organization’s six official languages.
Among them was Uganda’s representative, who — speaking for the Group of 77 and China — urged the Department to focus on disseminating factual, timely, clear and multilingual information on all platforms. Further, it must ensure that all breaking-news stories are free from bias and avoid editorializing in news pieces across all UN platforms. He also called on the Department to mobilize adequate resources, including voluntary contributions, to promote multilingualism and maximize its outreach.
In doing so, the Department should avoid automatic translation and create original content in the six official languages, said the representative of the Dominican Republic, speaking for the Group of Friends of Spanish. Such content must be prepared and managed “by and for people who think and see the world in different languages”, she stressed. Noting the increased number of searches in the Spanish language on the Organization’s website, she underlined the need to respond to the growing interest of Spanish-speaking people in the UN’s work.
Colombia’s representative echoed that, calling on the Department to strengthen the UN News service in Spanish while emphasizing that “multilingualism is a value that concerns the entire United Nations system”. Along those lines, the representative of Saudi Arabia encouraged UN Information Centres to expand their media presence in all six official languages — including Arabic — as multilingualism helps foster multilateral diplomacy and promote the values enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
Noting the Department’s efforts to promote multilingualism, India’s representative urged a more proactive approach to disseminating information in the Hindi language. Nevertheless, he highlighted the extensive work done by the News and Media Division to produce multimedia products in that language — including first-person accounts — covering issues from climate change to hate speech. He also pointed out that, amid challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, “the UN remains the most authoritative source of scientific knowledge”.
Similarly, Brazil’s representative — speaking for the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries — emphasized that accurate, impartial and multilingual information is vital for global audiences. “The dissemination of the UN message beyond the six official languages reinforces the importance of effectively informing a broader audience, especially women and young people,” she stated, pointing out that Portuguese is the official language of approximately 260 million people worldwide.
“The UN should be able to speak to the entire world,” stressed the representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, speaking for the Group of Francophone Ambassadors. He also underlined the need to leverage multilingualism in the fight against disinformation and noted the realities in different French-speaking countries, some of which are plagued by crises conducive to information disorder. In that context, he stressed the importance of ensuring fact-checking capabilities in all countries and languages. Multilingualism, he added, remains pivotal to the democratic functioning of multilateral institutions.
At the outset of the meeting, the Committee adopted the agenda and programme of work for its forty-sixth session and approved requests by Haiti and Uganda to join the Committee as new members. Additionally, members held an informal interactive meeting after the Under-Secretary-General’s statement to exchange ideas with, and pose questions to, the Department’s senior management.
Opening Remarks
MUHAMMAD USMAN IQBAL JADOON (Pakistan), Chair of the Committee on Information’s forty-sixth session, said that the contemporary challenges faced by the international community — including renewed geo-political tensions and worsening sustainable development and climate change crises — have a distinct information dimension. “Information is being fabricated, manipulated […] and spread with lightning speed using modern tools of communication and online platforms,” he said, noting that it serves political objectives during conflict and peacetime to discredit science and silence dissent. “It is becoming harder to discern the truth and facts from the web of lies and propaganda spun around us,” he cautioned, adding that even the UN ends up being the target of attacks on its credibility and impartiality.
Highlighting the Committee’s vital role in ensuring accurate, reliable and timely information, he outlined topics of discussion in the upcoming days, including the role of the media in shaping public opinion, bridging the North-South digital divide, and combating disinformation, hate speech and false narratives. He also underscored the need to utilize science-based information to promote attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and bolder climate action and to dispel myths about climate change. However, there can be no progress in these areas without bridging the digital and technological divide, creating an equitable and resilient global information landscape, and achieving universal connectivity and equal access to data for all. “The most effective cure to the pandemic of disinformation and hate speech is an informed and empowered global community,” he said, spotlighting the work undertaken by the Department of Global Communications to ensure information integrity.
MELISSA FLEMING, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, noting the meeting’s occurrence amidst “perilous times”, pointed to fossil-fuel pollution driving the climate crisis and egregious levels of inequality, spreading hate fuelled by digital disinformation and proliferating violence across the globe. “Yet, there are reasons to hope,” she observed, stating that “solutions are happening in real time” — the renewables revolution, commitments to transform education, efforts to guard against online disinformation and the “New Agenda for Peace”. For its part, the Department of Global Communications engages global audiences “not just on the troubled state of the world, but also the solutions that are out there”. Through news, campaigns and outreach activities, the Department reaches millions of people to both show them ways to get involved and to build support for the United Nations.
Stating that a key part of the Department’s support to the UN’s peace and security efforts are “our crisis communication cells”, she said that these bring together UN entities at the country, regional and global levels to examine narratives, align messaging, tackle disinformation and reputational issues and coordinate the response to media queries and social media reactions. They currently focus on Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory and, recalling Hamas’ terror attack and the relentless death and destruction visited by Israeli military operations on Gaza in the months to follow, she said: “The eyes of the world and the eyes of history are watching.” The Department’s crisis portal on the Organization’s primary website is helping audiences understand what is happening in Gaza — as well as the position of the UN Secretariat — and it is updated daily, in all UN official languages.
“Since its launch in October 2023, this dedicated crisis portal has generated over 700,000 views,” she reported, adding that — in parallel — 5.4 million people have viewed UN News’ coverage of the situation. Media organizations across the world — whose international correspondents have been unable to enter Gaza — have depended on this news, as well as the Department’s social media content and the video content delivered by UNifeed. Emphasizing that, beyond the Middle East, the Department works to ensure that other crises remain at the forefront of the world’s attention, she underlined the challenging nature of this task. “Audiences have very short attention spans,” she pointed out, stating that “news avoidance” — while not a new phenomenon — has worsened as the number of global crises grows.
Underscoring that “this is why we communicate strategically”, she noted that the Department’s publications on the war in Ukraine gathered more than 650,000 views from December 2023 to March 2024. Similar efforts attempt to refocus the world’s attention on Sudan — often characterized as a forgotten war — and, meanwhile, the Department’s interviews, video explainers, social media and news content from Haiti offer insights into the security and human-rights situation, the food crisis and humanitarian relief efforts in the country. She also stressed that “the climate emergency is not letting up”, highlighting the challenge before the Department in this context — communicating about this emergency in a way that raises the alarm, but does not leave audiences hopeless. “Many fossil fuel companies would like them to remain hopeless,” she observed.
Against that backdrop, she reported that the Department’s climate communications strategy is built on three pillars — to inform, to inspire and to mobilize. And, to boost existing climate communications, the Department is drawing on the success of the UN’s “Verified” initiative to address climate-related disinformation through a campaign titled “Verified for Climate”. Launched on Earth Day — 22 April — it uses engaging messaging to shift global narratives around climate and renewables by celebrating the positive benefits of clean energy. Further, it engages trusted messengers from diverse backgrounds, who use their social-media voices to reach those who may still be indifferent to the climate crisis. Noting the campaign’s potential, she emphasized that the Department’s climate website has seen a twentyfold increase in traffic over the past three years — from 940,000 page views in 2020 to 18.8 million in 2023.
She went on to detail the Department’s efforts to improve its approach, including producing original content faster. Speed is essential in the digital age, and the UN News team has therefore piloted “live blogs” to report in real-time about key meetings of the Security Council and General Assembly, as well as other important events such as the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai. This initiative is now expanding into different languages, and will evolve over time to include more contextual analysis and input from experts. “It is an indicative example of the innovation of our news teams, which continue in parallel to provide standard services — like coverage and summaries of UN meetings, press conferences and stakeouts — with the utmost professionalism and care,” she added. She also underlined the importance of innovation to the success of “@UnitedNations” social media accounts, which contribute a constant stream of factual content on platforms rife with misinformation, disinformation and hate speech.
She also highlighted the Department’s outreach efforts, which attempt to “lead the narrative in an increasingly competitive information environment”. Such initiatives include “Football for the Goals” and “United Nations Academic Impact” — which are critical for teaching youth about multilateralism — as well as education programmes that reach all generations, including those pertaining to the Holocaust, the transatlantic slave trade and the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. These activities aim to educate global audiences about these terrible events and to cultivate long-term support for UN values. To achieve the latter, the Department also uses avenues such as guided tours, as well as the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, and, on that, she announced that the UN Digital Library achieved more than 61 million downloads from more than 12,000 locations around the world in 2023.
However, she underscored that the Department’s work “is getting harder year by year”. Since the rise of social media, misinformation, disinformation and hate speech have polluted information ecosystems at an unprecedented scale, and artificial-intelligence tools are now being deployed to circulate false, misleading and hateful narratives. By design, this often limits the reach of reliable information, creating a feedback loop — loss of trust produces fertile ground for disinformation, which then erodes trust further. “It is into this maelstrom that we must communicate for a better world,” she stressed, spotlighting the Department’s work on a code of conduct for information integrity — the United Nations Global Principles for Information Integrity. By encouraging a holistic approach, the Principles will be an important step in setting global standards for safety, transparency and privacy in information spaces.
In this context, she also detailed the indispensable work of UN Information Centres and reported that the Department will continue exploring how to use technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to further the Organization’s work. In doing so, the Department is collaborating with key UN organizations that have been working on information integrity for years — namely the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) — and, further, will explore how to use artificial intelligence in the service of multilingualism. She added that it is the UN’s responsibility to remind people in these times of global division that the Organization continues to protect human rights, eradicate disease, save lives through humanitarian action, shape the norms of international development, pave the way for environmental protection and work to mitigate conflict. “We will not give up on this mission,” she said.
Statements
The representative of Uganda, speaking for the Group of 77 and China, underscored that the United Nations remains the indispensable foundation of a peaceful world, while the Committee on Information is an essential tool to protect the Organization’s objectives and activities. The Department of Global Communications plays a vital role in undertaking tasks connected with multiple global challenges, including climate change, food, energy, and supply chain disruption, the proliferation of conflict, the new arms race and rising xenophobia. While supporting the Department’s activities, he observed that the growing trend of fake news, disinformation and misinformation on online platforms — including social media — is exacerbating discrimination, hate speech and racism.
Accordingly, he underscored the need to increase focus on disseminating factual, timely, clear and multilingual information on all platforms. Also, the Department must ensure that all breaking news stories are free of bias and avoid editorializing in news pieces on all UN Media platforms. “The Department remains well-positioned to bridge the digital divide between developed and developing countries,” he said, adding that this is crucial for effective international cooperation. He encouraged the Department to mobilize adequate resources, including voluntary contributions, to promote multilingualism and maximize its outreach. The Department should also publicize the UN’s work in peacekeeping and peacebuilding and further strengthen partnerships with new and traditional media, he stressed.
JEAN NOEL LADOIS, Counsellor Head of the Coordination, Press and Information Section for the European Union, called for the United Nationsto “remain a hub for reliable, factual information about crises and how we can solve them”. He strongly condemned the Russian Federation’s use of disinformation and information manipulation in its attempts to justify its aggression against Ukraine — “including here at the UN, especially by leveraging its status as a permanent member of the Security Council”. It is in the common interest for the UN to be equipped to address this issue, as disinformation and information manipulation affect collective aims and priorities.
He re-emphasized that “we cannot accept that efforts of peacekeeping operations are undermined, risking lives of peacekeepers”; nor can the international community accept that efforts to combat climate change and implement the SDGs are undermined — often by statal malignant actors. Commending the work of the Department in drafting the UN Global Principles on information integrity, he nonetheless stated: “We must find means to ensure the UN remains more agile and better equipped when faced with these information threats.” He called for a central information integrity team within the Department as a hub for detection and analysis to anticipate and address information risks, establishing a common understanding of information threats across the UN. He further urged the Department to assess how to adapt to the challenges and opportunities of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to promote a healthy information environment.
The representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, speaking for the Group of Francophone Ambassadors, emphasized that shortcomings in the full implementation of multilingualism — within the Secretariat and UN bodies — harm the equal participation of Member States in international discussions. While recognizing that the Secretariat has made available UN content in the six official languages, he noted the continued uneven application in UN websites of the minimum standards for multilingualism. Further encouraging stronger traditional channels of communication, particularly through United Nations Radio, in the dissemination of information to local populations, in official as well as local languages, he reiterated the call for attention to visual communication during major international events under UN auspices. “The UN should be able to speak to the entire world,” he stressed.
A multilingual approach must guide the responses of Secretariat entities to the phenomenon of disinformation, he stated, echoing proposals shared by the International Organization of La Francophonie on the United Nations Global Principles for Information Integrity on Digital Platforms. Citing a number of challenges, he emphasized the need to respect human rights as well as the principles of transparency and accountability on digital platforms. He further highlighted the urgency of anchoring multilingualism in the continuum of the fight against disinformation — and the realities of different French-speaking countries, some of which are particularly plagued by crises and conflicts conducive to information disorder. He recalled the importance of the linguistic dimension in fact-checking capabilities in all countries and languages. Multilingualism remains a pivotal factor in the level of commitment of Member States and in the democratic functioning of multilateral institutions, he stressed.
The representative of the Dominican Republic, speaking for the Group of Friends of Spanish, said that implementing multilingualism allows the Organization to be a source of reliable, up-to-date, verified and science-based information — fulfilling the objectives of disseminating knowledge, fighting disinformation and reaching the largest possible number of people. Therefore, planning and creating content must occur in an equitable manner between the UN’s official languages, and such content must be prepared and managed “by and for people who think and see the world in different languages”. To this end, the Department must avoid automatic translations and create content in the original language to respect parity between the six official languages. Expressing concern over the “substantial differences” between content in those languages on the Organization’s website, she pointed out that the UN website for civil society — whose participation is vital — is only available in English.
In that context, she called on the Department to adapt its content to the audience in question, which should be updated in real-time in the six official languages. Turning to the use of Spanish, she spotlighted the increased number of searches in that language on the Organization’s website. Between 1 July and 1 November 2023, the Spanish page attracted 6.1 million views and 3.4 million users — in other words, 27 per cent of total visitors. Further, the UN News site in Spanish was the most visited of the nine UN News sites between July 2021 and November 2023. Against that backdrop, she spotlighted the need to respond to the growing interest of Spanish-speaking people in the United Nations’ work.
The representative of Brazil, speaking for the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries, welcomed the United Nations Global Principles for Information Integrity, aiming to promote responsibility, transparency, and security in digital platforms. Emphasizing that accurate, impartial and multilingual information is vital for global audiences, she encouraged the Department to continue disseminating UN ideals and activities in as many languages as possible, respecting the linguistic diversity, cultural context, and digital development levels of different countries. “The dissemination of the UN message beyond the six official languages reinforces the importance of effectively informing a broader audience, especially women and young people,” she stated.
She welcomed the role of United Nations Information Centres around the world in developing communication strategies, particularly reaching vulnerable populations with timely information in their local languages. Portuguese, she noted, is the official language of approximately 260 million people worldwide, the most spoken language in the Southern Hemisphere — and on 5 May, the UN will celebrate World Portuguese Language Day. “We must also overcome digital disparities that create more inequalities between States,” she stressed, emphasizing the important role of the UN in facilitating the global transition to digital economies and in addressing the imbalances in information technology worldwide.
VIKTORS MAKAROVS, Special Envoy on Digital Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, speaking on behalf of the Baltic States and aligning himself with the European Union, underscored that the work of the Department is essential in providing precise, fact-based information and supporting the media worldwide. The Department’s work on the Global Principles on Information Integrity is also urgently needed to help safeguard the effectiveness of democracies and the UN. Noting that it is the responsibility of all States to ensure a healthy information environment and refrain from using foreign information manipulation and interference, he underscored the need to ensure a free and open online environment that is also safe and resilient to misinformation. To this end, it is crucial to promote media and information literacy, he said, detailing innovative media literacy projects implemented by the Baltic States.
He said that one of the main tasks ahead is to address the AI-driven risks of information manipulation, stating: “Democracies need to become better at addressing disinformation, especially by foreign actors who seek to undermine our institutions and societies.” In this context, he drew attention to Moscow’s global information manipulation campaigns that seek to justify its illegal invasions, such as the baseless claims of Ukraine’s complicity in the 22 March terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall. Turning to artificial intelligence, he cautioned that the ease and affordability of creating synthetic digital content — the so-called “deep-fakes” — pose a risk to societies and democratic processes, including elections. While the malicious misuse of AI poses a universal threat, its impact is particularly acute for developing countries with limited resources to address it, he stressed.
The representative of the Costa Rica noted that as computing capabilities expand, the proliferation of disinformation and false or misinformation will inevitably increase — requiring a coordinated approach between the international system, States, the private sector, academia, the media, and civil society. She emphasized that gender-based online harassment is intensifying with the spread of fake news that incites hatred towards women, who are the main targets of online harassment, abuse, and hate speech — perpetuating cycles of trauma and abuse and discouraging their participation in politics both in times of peace and during conflict resolution. Further, generative AI “exacerbates these issues by providing aggressors with convenient anonymity”, she affirmed. Machine learning is inherently political because it is permanently designed and shaped by social norms and practices, technical processes, and practices. “More than a technology, artificial intelligence is a narrative,” she stressed, making it imperative to include women’s perspectives at all levels of machine learning development.
The representative of the Russian Federation noted that a member of his delegation was unable to participate in the Committee’s work due to the United States’ non-issuance of a visa despite timely submission of documents. Expressing concern over worsening information access — “especially in the countries of the like-minded West, where political censorship has taken root” — he stated that the world is facing a “rapid fragmentation of the global information sphere”. This is accompanied by a rise in “opaque information bubbles”, he said, adding that societies trapped within them end up with a deformed, false view of the world. On that, he underscored that the leader of restrictions against media and journalists is the “Zelenskyy regime”. He also expressed concern over “Russophobia” in Latvia and the Republic of Moldova, journalists killed in Gaza, Israel’s “smear campaign” against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and content created by artificial intelligence.
The representative of Pakistan voiced regret that the use of digital media is turbocharging the spread of fake information and disinformation to promote Islamophobia to justify foreign occupation and aggression to turn victims of aggression into the culprits. This led Pakistan to initiate the resolution on disinformation, unanimously adopted as A/RES/76/227. Pakistan would welcome the development of an intergovernmentally formulated code of conduct for information integrity on digital platforms; it must address the increasing use of AI tools for spreading false information and conducting digital surveillance. States are resorting to fake news and disinformation in situations of foreign occupation to subdue the voices of people being denied their fundamental freedoms, including the right to self-determination. “We are witnessing this today in the Gaza war and have witnessed this consistently in the case of occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. Concerned about the increasing use of digital media platforms to target minority communities, he said formulating policies on digital sovereignty that respect countries’ rights to govern their online spaces in line with their own laws and values is crucial.
The representative of Côte d’Ivoire, associating himself with the Group of 77 and China and the Group of French-speaking Ambassadors, observed that information and communications technologies have become essential catalysts for accelerating achievement of the SDGs. However, these powerful tools also generate numerous challenges, including the worsening of the digital divide, which limits equal opportunities and access to information for a large segment of the population, and developing countries’ economic growth potential. “Digital technology — although a powerful engine of progress for humanity — requires a collective approach to take full advantage of its full potential,” he stressed, underlining the need to address the multiple challenges inherent to the development, accessibility and security of the digital environment. Accordingly, he welcomed the Department of Global Communications’ initiatives aimed at combating disinformation and hate speech, which seriously undermine peace and security, democracy, and human rights.
The representative of Saudi Arabia noted that his country is modernizing its digital infrastructure based on international standards — with 88 per cent of Government services now available electronically, putting it in the top 10 in digital infrastructure. He encouraged UN Information Centres to expand their presence in the media and all six official languages — including Arabic — as multilingualism helps foster multilateral diplomacy and enshrines the values of the Charter of the United Nations. Pointing to the situation in Palestine, where the people have been enduring genocide, forced displacement and systematic hunger for 200 days, he called on media to report on the reality without bias or concealment. Further, he urged the UN to playing a key role in improving and raising public awareness about peace and security, especially since certain media are promoting hatred, extremism and violence.
The representative of Colombia, aligning herself with the Group of 77 and China and the Group of Friends of Spanish, said that the Committee on Information is “an indispensable tool to connect the United Nations with the world”. The Department of Global Communications should continue promoting strategic communication campaigns, with content adapted to national contexts and in multilingual formats. To this end, the Department’s news and media teams should create dynamic and relevant multilingual content for a global audience in a timely, balanced manner. On that note, she highlighted that from 1 July to 1 November 2023, 27 per cent of the total visitors to the UN website were Spanish-speaking — one of the two largest audiences. Also, 26 per cent of all sessions on the Organization’s website and 28 per cent of engagement, measured per view, were in Spanish. Given this increase in the interaction of Spanish-speaking users with the Organization’s activities, UN News in Spanish must be strengthened, she asserted, noting that “multilingualism is a value that concerns the entire United Nations system”.
The representative of Haiti said that his country is especially interested in how communication strategies can be adapted and applied to better reflect the real needs of all Member States, including small island developing States. During the informal interactive session, Haiti intends to emphasize the importance of combating misinformation and disinformation, which constitute a major challenge for international peace and security. Voicing support for the Department’s efforts in coordinating crisis communications, he noted that Haiti — with its unique history and challenges — can offer useful perspectives on how to navigate today’s complex and polarized media landscape. His delegation is committed to working together with all members of the Committee to promote a new world information order that is not only fair and balanced, but also fosters peace, sustainable development and mutual understanding among all peoples.
The representative of Uruguay highlighted the Department’s fundamental role in making the UN known in global affairs and restoring the full validity of international law, and encouraged it to disseminate precise, timely, detailed and balanced information and use all adequate media. She also welcomed its communication and awareness-raising campaigns to eradicate violence against women and children and combat climate change. Since the creation of the Organization, multilateralism and ensuring language parity has been a main issue of concern, she observed, adding that press statements and archives should be available in all official languages, allowing for the participation of all. To this end, ensuring the Department has the necessary resources to carry out its mandate is vital. “Only through a collective commitment to transparency and inclusion can we move towards a more just, peaceful and sustainable world for present and future generations,” she stated.
The representative of Brazil, aligning herself with the Group of 77 and China and the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries, stressed that “the importance of communication based on reliable information cannot be overstated”. Noting the importance of multilingualism, she advocated for the continued dissemination of UN ideals in different languages, thus ensuring that information resonates with its audience. She applauded the UN News service in Portuguese — spoken by approximately 260 million people worldwide — adding that the Department of Global Communications should have a diverse and multilingual staff, able to distribute accurate, clear, timely and accessible information on all UN platforms. Turning to the digital divide, she stated: “We can only achieve an inclusive digital future through international cooperation and governance that closes digital gaps and supports meaningful connectivity and affordable access for all.” The UN is well placed “to spearhead efforts to foster digital economies and address global imbalances in technology access,” she added.
The representative of Germany called on the international community to come together to counter the growing wave of information manipulation and opinion polarization — as “every day we see that disinformation and hate speech, often deliberately and maliciously spread for political purposes, pose a very real risk to many people working in UN operations and missions around the world.” From a German/European perspective, it is a priority to protect European Parliament elections from illegitimate foreign influence, as it must be assumed foreign States are actively trying to use information manipulation to sow social discord. He noted that since the beginning of the Russian Federation’s attack on Ukraine, Germany has seen an increase in politically-motivated hacking and large-scale social media campaigns carried out by large bot networks aimed at undermining German support for Ukraine. “But let me be clear — we will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes,” he stressed, denouncing Moscow’s abuse not only of media, but also disseminating its war propaganda amongst Member States in UN bodies.
The representative of India said that misinformation and disinformation challenges underscore the importance of the work undertaken by the Department. Amid challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, “the UN remains the most authoritative source of scientific knowledge”, including thorough climate campaigns. Noting the Department’s efforts to promote multilingualism, he urged a more proactive approach to disseminating information in the Hindi language. He further highlighted the extensive work done by the Department’s News and Media Division regarding Hindi multimedia products, including first-person accounts, covering issues from climate change to hate speech. The UN should adhere to the principle of impartiality, especially on social media, he said.
The representative of Lebanon welcomed activities of the Department, particularly annual training for Palestinian journalists, as a tribute to the Palestinian journalist who was killed by the Israeli occupying forces when she was covering the invasion of the Jenin refugee camp in May 2022. He stressed that in the context of the genocidal Israeli war perpetrated against Gaza, the occupying forces have killed over 97 journalists and personnel who are active in the information field. Further, the information campaign against Lebanon since 8 October is targeting press personnel, as “Israel is doing this in a direct way”, he stated — with the attack claiming more than three lives from the ranks of Lebanese journalists. He stressed that repeated attacks on press members are considered war crimes, aiming to terrorize all journalists to prevent them from disseminating news about the crimes committed linked to the Israeli war in Gaza and prevent documentation of “these flagrant violations of international law.”
The representative of the Philippines, aligning himself with the Group of 77 and China, commended the Department’s tireless campaigns and initiatives to combat misinformation and disinformation. From climate change to food supply shocks, fuel prices, and the conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, Haiti, Congo and Myanmar, “the spread of inaccurate information threatens our ability to make informed decisions and take effective action,” he cautioned, stressing the need to ensure reliable information and rapid, strategic communication efforts by the UN to counter these threats. Furthermore, given the proliferation of hate speech, religious persecution, xenophobia and racism, it is essential to promote science-based information while ensuring the safety of journalists and supporting independent media. On the digital divide within and among countries, he underlined the need to urgently address Internet connectivity disparities and tackle communication technology monopolies. Moreover, “multilingualism remains vital in our communication efforts,” he observed, noting the importance of linguistic diversity, especially given the growth of Spanish and French audiences.