The US special envoy has announced the creation of a global alliance of democracies to safeguard their communities from deceptive efforts by foreign governments.
James Rubin, the special envoy for tackling non-state propaganda and disinformation at the GEC of the US state department, expressed the coalition’s goal of establishing clear distinctions between information manipulation and differing opinions held by other governments, even if they conflict with our own.
The United States, United Kingdom, and Canada have all agreed to a formal framework agreement, and the US is hopeful that additional countries will also participate.
The GEC’s main focus is on identifying disinformation from foreign countries. In addition to devising worldwide plans, it aims to uncover individual covert disinformation campaigns, such as a Russian effort in Africa to undermine confidence in US healthcare.
The United States, United Kingdom, and Canada have recently agreed to a framework aimed at combatting foreign state manipulation. This is in response to the growing concern of disinformation as a threat to national security, which requires cooperation between government and civil society. The framework emphasizes the need for a joint effort among like-minded countries to increase resilience and improve responses to foreign information manipulation. It also promotes the sharing of information and the use of tools for analyzing data together in order to identify covert foreign disinformation.
A highly experienced American government representative and reporter who has collaborated with diplomats like Madeleine Albright in previous roles, Rubin acknowledged that his initial year as a special envoy was one of the most challenging intellectually due to the intricacies of defining disinformation.
He has attempted to pinpoint where and how governments can intervene without impeding free speech, within the spectrum ranging from hostile opinions to disinformation.
He believes that foreign powers are deceiving others. According to him, governments should have the freedom to express their opinions, but they should also have to reveal their identities. This statement was made during an interview.
”
“We aim to increase the dissemination of evidence-based information, while also developing methods to identify and label information operations created by the Chinese government or the Kremlin, even if they do not acknowledge their involvement.”
Ultimately, this is the extent of what we are able to do without impeding on the freedom of the press. We are not requesting for this deceptive information to be removed, but rather seeking a solution for identifying its source.
For instance, he mentions a potential notification that could appear on the phone displays of individuals in Eastern Europe, stating “The United States possesses bioweapons in Ukraine.”
He stated that it is a commonly used tactic of spreading false information that one may or may not choose to believe. However, if a message on your screen claims that Russia has accused the US of possessing bioweapons in Ukraine, or if it is reported by Russia Today, the impact is minimized.
Some may always hold irrational beliefs, but at least they will have been informed of the source of the information.
If a country’s sovereign information space is breached by Russia, China, Iran, or a terrorist group without their admission and is disguised as a bot, intelligence operative posing as a journalist, or through bribery of a local official, measures should be taken to identify and label it.
“What is wrong is a covert operation to manipulate information by secretly inserting it into the system without a made-in-the-Kremlin stamp on it. When people read this stuff they should know it comes from the Russian government, and it is legitimate to point that out without anyone trying to censor anyone’s thoughts or opinions.”
In a nation like the United States, where freedom of speech is protected by the constitution, the topic brings up complex considerations regarding the relationship with social media platforms. This is not a concern in the more involved European Union. The EU has implemented the Digital Services Act and in December initiated an investigation into X regarding illegal content and false information, as well as a lack of transparency in advertising and deceptive design practices. In the UK, the media regulator Ofcom now has authority over social media content through the Online Safety Act.
Rubin emphasized that it is not the responsibility of his organization to dictate the actions of social media companies, particularly in the US. However, he believes it is justified for his organization to reveal deceitful tactics used by foreign entities. He stated that it is up to others to request that social media companies uphold their terms of service.
Rubin stated that he has tackled challenging topics like nuclear disarmament, but believes the current issue is even more difficult. In the United States, the freedom of press is a constitutional right. However, social media companies are not regulated, and the concept of disinformation is often misconstrued.
“When visiting eastern Europe, an official may claim to have experienced a serious incident of disinformation yesterday and provide evidence, which may only be an article. The term “disinformation” can be misused as a blanket term for anything one disagrees with, similar to “fake news”. However, this is not the intended meaning of the term.”
This task is particularly challenging due to a significant imbalance. The information spaces of Russia and China have been restricted to the rest of the global community.
Source: theguardian.com
