Approving two resolutions that emphasize the importance of ensuring public access to information and reaffirming the crucial role of the Department of Global Communication in addressing the spread of misinformation in the era of artificial intelligence, the United Nations Committee on Information concluded its forty-sixth session today.
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Committee on Information
Amid multiplying disinformation, rising tensions and armed conflicts — including in Gaza and Ukraine — the Department of Global Communications serves as a vital bridge between the United Nations and the global community, delegates told the Committee on Information today, as it concluded the general debate of its forty-sixth session today.
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.
The United Nations Committee on Information — concluding its forty-fifth session today — approved two resolutions detailing Member States’ priorities for the Department of Global Communications, from combating disinformation, misinformation and information manipulation to reducing disparities in information flows by enhancing assistance for developing countries.
Concerned by a tidal wave of pressing global challenges from the spike in misinformation and disinformation to widening digital gaps, delegates today underscored the essentiality of multilingualism while outlining several concrete recommendations for the United Nations Department of Global Communications, as the Committee on Information concluded the general debate of its forty-fifth session.
Emphasizing the importance of trustworthy, verifiable information in a world beset with crises and in an environment rife with inaccurate reports, delegates today commended an ongoing initiative by the Department of Global Communications to draft a code of conduct to promote integrity in public information, while urging it to mainstream multilingualism and redouble efforts to combat misinformation and disinformation.
Amid a plethora of global, overlapping crises on the United Nations agenda, the Department of Global Communications remains guided by a systematic, data‑driven approach focused on audiences and impact as it communicates facts, captures imaginations and conveys hope, its top official told the Committee on Information during the opening of the forty-fifth session today.
The United Nations Committee on Information — concluding its forty-fourth session today under the shadow of the tragic killing of yet another journalist in the line of duty — approved two resolutions detailing Member States’ priorities for the Department of Global Communications, from fighting misinformation to helping States protect the fundamental rights to expression and opinion.
Denouncing the epidemic of misinformation and disinformation proliferating during the coronavirus pandemic, the climate crisis and the rising geopolitical tensions, delegates welcomed today an initiative by the Department of Global Communications to draft a code of conduct to promote integrity in public information while urging it to mainstream multilingualism into its activities.
With core United Nations values under the greatest strain since the Organization’s founding, the Department of Global Communications is spearheading robust efforts to stem the tide of disinformation, counter attacks on human rights and tell the human stories on the front lines of conflict, the agency’s top official told the Committee on Information, as members opened their forty-fourth session today.