What can the EU do to better tackle the issue of disinformation? Since the US presidential election of 2016, the word `fake news` has become mainstream and many believe that we live in a `post-truth` world.
According to the findings of Statista Finland trusts the news the most with 56% of Finnish believing what they hear on the news, while at the same time, only 27% of Hungarians tend to trust them (Watson, 2020) .
The reason for that is fast-spreading disinformation that is being targeted at Europe and the Western world by countries such as Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.
While disinformation is believed to be among the main threats to democracy, the question must be asked whether the EU is doing enough to tackle this issue and what other measures it can take.
Democracy was long believed to be the best form of governance but nowadays, a feeling of pessimism towards its future is spreading all around the world. There are many reasons why this is happening, depending on which part of the world one is talking about.
However, there are also some common reasons which stand behind the decline. If we are talking about Europe, I would say that disinformation can be regarded as one of the main threats to democratic regimes. The reason for that is `fake news` blurs the boundaries between facts and opinions, and it becomes extremely difficult for the member states` citizens to be objective towards events happening not only in the rest of the world but also inside the Union itself. It is fair to say that growing Euroscepticism played a big role during the Brexit Referendum which, as we all know, resulted in British exit from the EU. In fact, research by The Guardian shows that the vote share of Eurosceptic parties has more than doubled over the last two decades.
If let’s say, the disinformation is used right by countries like Russia or China, it can cause great damage to the unity of the EU which eventually could result in another member state’s decision to leave the Union and the EU’s political power weakening in the international arena. Indeed, the EU is aware of the threat the disinformation might poses and has already taken some steps to tackle the issue.
Last year the European Parliament condemned Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea for their disinformation campaigns in Europe. It stated that actions ‘’which seek to undermine the foundations and principles of European democracies as well as the sovereignty of all Eastern Partnership countries” would not be tolerated. Also, the MEPs asked the EU to extend the East StratCom Task Force, which was created in 2015 to promote active communication of EU policies to its eastern European neighbors, into a grander structure within the EEAS to directly deal with Russian disinformation. Moreover, the EU called some social media services such as Twitter and Facebook to better generate the posts. Finally, the EU wants the fake news posted on social media to be regulated by law.
In March 2019, the Union adopted legislation to protect elections from data misuse as a result of the Cambridge Analytica/Facebook scandal (Scott, 2019).
Therefore the EU sees the need to tackle the problem of disinformation, more things can be done. Indeed, one should not underestimate the power of disinformation. Not only it misleads the citizens and make them trust the media less (as it is already happening) but as mentioned above, disinformation also poses a security and political threat to the unity of the EU, and it should be indeed regarded as a `foreign interference in the domestic affairs`, and dealt with on the higher level.
That being said, diplomats and country officials who work abroad should be involved in the process of tackling the problem of disinformation.
Firstly, embassies can sponsor `news-awareness` events in the area they are located. Indeed, local citizens should take part in it too. They can, on behalf of the embassies, workshops and give a speech regarding the issue.
Secondly, when negotiating trade or investment agreements with other countries, the issue of disinformation, just like the issue of protecting human or labor rights should be emphasized. Yes, most of the countries in the world are considered to be democratic or at least claim to be such and they cannot just shut down the newspapers that might spread fake news to make good headlines, however, they still have more power over their country-based periodicals than some other country. However, there are also cases when a country itself is responsible for spreading disinformation, such as in the case with Russia. Those agreements can also be followed up by some rewards such as better market access, aid, foreign direct investment, etc. On the contrary, if the country continues to spread disinformation sanctions should be applied.
Thirdly, travel bans on specific individuals should be imposed and prosecution should be put in place as well.
Fourthly, it would be also seful for the EU to calculate the time when it is more likely to be targeted by disinformation and prepare well for the possible information attack. Meanwhile, the EU should better monitor the news and raise public awareness of the existing issue.
Of course, the EU cannot totally overcome all of the threats posed by disinformation. However, the consequences of a lack of action can be quite serious. It is important to note that the EU is already trying to tackle the issue through the establishment of the East StratCom Task Force and calling some of the most popular social media to better monitor their posts. However, it definitely can do more. Without a doubt, disinformation should be regarded as a security threat and be dealt with on the higher levels.
Works Cited
Scott, Mark. “Cambridge Analytica Did Work for Brexit Groups, Says Ex-Staffer.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 31 July 2019, www.politico.eu/article/cambridge-analytica-leave-eu-ukip-brexit-facebook/.
Watson, Amy. Trust in News Media Worldwide 2020. 16 July 2020, www.statista.com/statistics/308468/importance-brand-journalist-creating-trust-news/.