Disinformation has become ‘global scourge’, Media Minister says
By Cillian Sherlock, PA
Government funding for fact-checking services should be explored, according to a new strategy from the Department of Media.
The Disinformation Strategy, published on Thursday, outlines a range of measures to promote media pluralism, improve media literacy and enhance regulation.
Among the actions, the strategy calls for support in the growth of expertise on “fact-checking and pre-bunking” in Ireland.
It says more support in the form of training and knowledge exchange for media practitioners is required for the timely and effective dissemination of factchecks, pre-bunks, and disinformation analysis.
It says it essential that fact-checking and pre-bunking activities are resourced properly, sustainably and transparently.
The strategy adds: “The feasibility of a funding strand under the media fund for the fact-checking/pre-bunking community should be explored.”
Speaking on RTÉ radio, Media Minister Patrick O’Donovan said disinformation had become a “global scourge”.
He said disinformation represents a “danger to democracy” as well as people’s ability to distinguish fact from fiction in day-to-day tasks.
Mr O’Donovan said the strategy would be “funded and resourced”, adding: “But we’re going to rely on partners including our public service broadcasters and our commercial broadcasters and social media platforms themselves as well to work with us on weeding out something that’s really, to be quite honest about it, has become a global scourge.
“And it’s something that we can’t allow to be unchallenged in the way that maybe it has been in some jurisdictions.”
Mr O’Donovan also highlighted that disinformation can cause “irreparable damage” to the reputation of individuals.
“We need to have mechanisms there so that, first of all people reading it can disseminate and say ‘we know that is a ball of you-know-what’ but there has to be repercussions in terms of the damage caused to individuals as well.”
Elsewhere, the document calls for the Government to develop a national approach to countering “foreign information manipulation and interference” and support international initiatives to counter disinformation.
The strategy also aims to support media pluralism and freedom as well as overall trust in the media.
It calls for implementation of the local democracy and courts reporting schemes to support the production of “high-quality local public service content of relevance to local communities in Ireland”.
It adds that there should be independent oversight of all public funding schemes for journalism.
It also points to provisions in the European Media Freedom Act which is designed to ensure that media – both public and private – can operate more easily across borders in the EU internal market.
The act has provisions to protect editorial independence and the independent functioning of public service media as well as steps to enhance transparency of media ownership and State advertising.
A “Counter Disinformation Oversight Group” will also be established to consider the commitments of the report.
