Independent Senator Rónán Mullen has called on Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, to ensure there is full transparency on all the operations of the newly appointed Working Group on Media misinformation and disinformation.
Last week it was announced that the group is aiming to publish a new National Counter Disinformation Strategy by the end of the year. The government says the multi-sectoral group will aim to combat disinformation and reduce the creation and spread of “false and harmful material”.
Addressing the Seanad this morning, the Independent Senator warned against the Government and media vested interests undermining “the valuable work of citizen journalists”.
“The last thing Ireland needs is a new ‘Ministry of Truth’, Senator Mullen said, adding that freedom of thought is paramount.
“This must be about enabling free citizens to think and express free thoughts. For that, they need accurate, not controlled, information,” he said.
The Senator also hit out at “the steady misinformation produced by some mainstream media in recent years, in support of particular narratives.”
He went on to criticise the inconsistency of ‘fact checkers’ who, he said, on occasions were ‘notoriously partisan’ on contentious issues.
The Senator said he supported the idea of the Working Group but there were dangers if it was not transparent. “I like the apple pie but I’d be worried by the poison it might contain,” he said.
“One reason why people have turned away from mainstream media is the recent ongoing attempt to control what people hear. Our capital city is full of social media giants with vested interests and deep pockets, influencing every angle of public policy. To counteract this threat, we need the Working Group to be fully transparent.”
Calling for full transparency on the operations of the Working Group on Media misinformation and disinformation
Ireland does not need a new ‘Ministry of Truth”. Lets enable citizens to think and express free thoughts.
For that they need accurate, not controlled, information. pic.twitter.com/BwZoGGdY6a
— Senator Rónán Mullen (@RonanMullen) March 1, 2023
Appealing for transparency he said:
“I am asking the Working Group…that every submission they consider be done in public; that all contributions from big tech, mainstream media, political parties and government are publicly accessible as soon as these are made; that all the discussions of the Group take place in public; that all contributions from big tech, mainstream media, political parties and government are publicly accessible as soon as these are made; that all their discussions take place in public.”
“We need a high degree of openness, because we are potentially talking about limitations on freedom of expression, one of democracy’s foundation stones.”
He concluded his speech by emphasising how attempts to censor information may result in increased distrust in the government and the media, adding, “Whenever ideas and views are suppressed, distrust and alienation follow. It is when the window of discussion is too narrow, rather than too wide, that politics fails and conspiracies abound.”
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