European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen has warned that “disinformation and misinformation” will be the “top concern” for the next two years – even greater than war and climate change.
The remarks were made this week as the German EU chief made a “special address” at the opening of the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
The theme of the WEF conference this year is “rebuilding trust.”
Von Der Leyen said that “disinformation” and “polarisation” were a significant risk to the “global business community.”
“STUNNING AND SOBERING”
“Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, dear Klaus,” she said.
“Your annual Global Risk Report makes for a stunning and sobering read.
“For the global business community, the top concern for the next two years is not conflict or climate – it is disinformation and misinformation, followed closely by polarisation within our societies.”
She went on to say that “these risks are serious,” because they “limit our ability to tackle the big global challenges we are facing” – including climate change, shifts in demography, evolving technology, competition and supply chains, and “spiralling regional conflicts.”
“INDUSTRIAL-SCALE DISINFORMATION”
The EU chief added that governments should work with private businesses to work with private businesses to stamp out “industrial-scale disinformation.”
“While governments hold many of the levers to deal with the great challenges of our time, businesses have the innovation, the technology and the talents to deliver the solutions we need, to fight threats like climate change or industrial-scale disinformation,” she said, adding: “Europe is uniquely placed to show how this can work.”
“OUR FREEDOM COMES WITH RISKS”
“…Of course, like in all democracies, our freedom comes with risks,” she said.
“There will always be those who try to exploit our openness, both from inside and outside. There will always be attempts to push us off track, for example with disinformation and misinformation.”
Von Der Leyen said that confronting the issue of disinformation has been the EU’s “focus” since she took office, and that the EU’s new Digital Services Act would be used to stamp out “hate speech” as well.
“TACKLING THIS HAS BEEN OUR FOCUS SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING OF MY MANDATE”
“Tackling this has been our focus since the very beginning of my mandate,” she said.
“With our Digital Services Act, we defined the responsibilities of large internet platforms on the content they promote and propagate. A responsibility to children and vulnerable groups targeted by hate speech but also a responsibility to our societies as a whole.
“Because the boundary between online and offline is getting thinner and thinner. And the values we cherish offline should also be protected online.”
IRELAND’S DISINFORMATION BODIES
As of last year, Ireland has two organisations geared towards combating disinformation and misinformation – namely, the Electoral Commission and the Media Commission.
The Irish government's new anti-misinformation force, the Electoral Commission, says it has "very extensive powers" to "require the correction or removal of information we believe to be incorrect" – all in an effort to "enhance democracy." Question by @Ben_Scallan #gript pic.twitter.com/nMlixyGM2q
— gript (@griptmedia) August 30, 2023
Notably, a member of the Electoral Commission previously chaired a group urging the government to “counteract the spread” of “hate speech”, and was also part of a group whose explicit goal was to challenge “far-right organising.”
A member of Ireland’s new Electoral Commission recently chaired a group urging the government to “counteract the spread” of “hate speech”, and was also part of a group whose explicit goal was to challenge “far-right organising."#gripthttps://t.co/GcNngZRGe0
— gript (@griptmedia) August 31, 2023
Gript previously interviewed Green Party Media Minister Catherine Martin on the government’s strategy against misinformation, during which she repeatedly declined to say whether or not the strategy would target potential false statements by mainstream media outlets, such as RTÉ.
"Will this apply to fake news by the mainstream media as well?" Green Party Media Minister Catherine Martin is asked if her strategy to fight "misinformation" will target newspapers and broadcasters, or just ordinary citizens.#gript pic.twitter.com/FJt9GEJuzx
— gript (@griptmedia) February 21, 2023
ALLIANZ CEO WARNS OF “DETACHMENT” OF THE POLITICAL ELITE
Earlier this week amid the WEF meeting, Oliver Bäte, the CEO of German insurance firm Allianz, warned that an “increasing detachment” of the Western political elite from the working class was a “major risk,” and that political leaders had to start telling the “truth” to citizens about issues like climate change in order to restore public trust.
“We have an increasing detachment of the political elite from the working class,” the CEO of Allianz has warned, adding that “our leaders are not addressing the needs of the people.”
He was speaking amid the World Economic Forum event in Davos.https://t.co/6LvnwZt4FP
— gript (@griptmedia) January 17, 2024
“You’ve seen recent elections in the Netherlands, you’ve seen that in France, and societies are polarised, because our leaders are not addressing the needs of the people,” he said.
“We have an increasing detachment of the political elite from the working class and the people that actually go to work every day, and that I see as the number one risk for our societies.”