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Is the EU making progress in fighting disinformation?
Part of #ERGA webinar today.
My topline: Perhaps? A little? Though problems continue to evolve, maybe faster than responses.
But if nothing else,
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇪🇺" title="Flagge der Europäischen Union" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge der Europäischen Union"> has done more than other large, complex polities like https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇧🇷" title="Flagge von Brasilien" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Brasilien">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇮🇳" title="Flagge von Indien" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Indien">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇺🇸" title="Flagge der Vereinigten Staaten" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge der Vereinigten Staaten">.
Thread 1/15
Part of #ERGA webinar today.
My topline: Perhaps? A little? Though problems continue to evolve, maybe faster than responses.
But if nothing else,
Thread 1/15
To take it from beginning - EU has for years identified disinfo as a “major challenge for European democracies and societies”, #covid19 crisis has only further underlined challenges
First response was creation of High Level Group on Online Disinformation, I was part of it
2/15
First response was creation of High Level Group on Online Disinformation, I was part of it
2/15
In March 2018, the HLG delivered its report https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/final-report-high-level-expert-group-fake-news-and-online-disinformation
It& #39;s">https://ec.europa.eu/digital-s... long and uneven.
@cjimenezcruz, @cward1e @Mantzarlis (then director of @factchecknet) and myself, all of whom had served on it, identified six key takeaways in this post https://medium.com/@hlegresponse/six-key-points-from-the-eu-commissions-new-report-on-disinformation-1a4ccc98cb1c
3/15">https://medium.com/@hlegresp...
It& #39;s">https://ec.europa.eu/digital-s... long and uneven.
@cjimenezcruz, @cward1e @Mantzarlis (then director of @factchecknet) and myself, all of whom had served on it, identified six key takeaways in this post https://medium.com/@hlegresponse/six-key-points-from-the-eu-commissions-new-report-on-disinformation-1a4ccc98cb1c
3/15">https://medium.com/@hlegresp...
6 key things?
1 Stop calling it f*ke news.
2 Focus on collaborative responses
3 Provide funding for research
4 Platforms need to share data
5 Public authorities need to share data
6 Need for significant €€€ support for independent news media, fact-checking, MI literacy
4/15
1 Stop calling it f*ke news.
2 Focus on collaborative responses
3 Provide funding for research
4 Platforms need to share data
5 Public authorities need to share data
6 Need for significant €€€ support for independent news media, fact-checking, MI literacy
4/15
About 8 months later, the @EU_Commission announced its action plan against disinformation
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/publications/action-plan-disinformation-commission-contribution-european-council-13-14-december-2018_en
Here">https://ec.europa.eu/commissio... a thread with my summary of it https://twitter.com/rasmus_kleis/status/1070344396468613121
(Let& #39;s">https://twitter.com/rasmus_kl... just say it didn& #39;t provide the €100m+ the HLG had suggested to combat "major challenge")
5/15
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/publications/action-plan-disinformation-commission-contribution-european-council-13-14-december-2018_en
Here">https://ec.europa.eu/commissio... a thread with my summary of it https://twitter.com/rasmus_kleis/status/1070344396468613121
(Let& #39;s">https://twitter.com/rasmus_kl... just say it didn& #39;t provide the €100m+ the HLG had suggested to combat "major challenge")
5/15
Compared to the 6 key things?
1 Stopped calling it f*ke newshttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✔️" title="Fettes Häkchen" aria-label="Emoji: Fettes Häkchen">
2 Focus on collaborationhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✔️" title="Fettes Häkchen" aria-label="Emoji: Fettes Häkchen">
3 Some € for research (~€2.5m has been given, more on its way) (https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✔️" title="Fettes Häkchen" aria-label="Emoji: Fettes Häkchen">)
4 Well... monthly PDFs?https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❌" title="Kreuzzeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Kreuzzeichen">
5 No progress I can seehttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❌" title="Kreuzzeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Kreuzzeichen">
6 Minimal €€€ (remember, EU annual budget is €165b)https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❌" title="Kreuzzeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Kreuzzeichen">
6/15
1 Stopped calling it f*ke news
2 Focus on collaboration
3 Some € for research (~€2.5m has been given, more on its way) (
4 Well... monthly PDFs?
5 No progress I can see
6 Minimal €€€ (remember, EU annual budget is €165b)
6/15
Key part of collaboration part has been "code of practice" announced in Sep 2018, signed by some but not all platforms, advertisers, +others.
Wrote about it here https://twitter.com/rasmus_kleis/status/1070344396468613121
How">https://twitter.com/rasmus_kl... has code worked out? Mixed. Better than nothing? At least for small member states.
7/15
Wrote about it here https://twitter.com/rasmus_kleis/status/1070344396468613121
How">https://twitter.com/rasmus_kl... has code worked out? Mixed. Better than nothing? At least for small member states.
7/15
European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services ( #erga) assessment of how code has worked (which I largely agree with) call it "signficant step" but stresses need for greater transparency+detailed data, wonder if self-regulation is enough
https://erga-online.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ERGA-Report-on-Disinformation-Press-release.pdf
8/15">https://erga-online.eu/wp-conten...
https://erga-online.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ERGA-Report-on-Disinformation-Press-release.pdf
8/15">https://erga-online.eu/wp-conten...
Where do we go from here?
Since 2018 we& #39;ve been in a bit of a holding pattern, every ~quarter @EU_Commission says basically the same: "our-initiatives-are-working-but-platforms-must-do-more"
But still little data from platforms, little data from authorities, no real €
9/15
Since 2018 we& #39;ve been in a bit of a holding pattern, every ~quarter @EU_Commission says basically the same: "our-initiatives-are-working-but-platforms-must-do-more"
But still little data from platforms, little data from authorities, no real €
9/15
What does the public think?
@risj_oxford research suggest people are a) worried about what& #39;s real/fake online, b) see domestic politicians as most concerning source of false and misleading information, and c) see social media - esp Facebook - as most concerning platforms
10/15
@risj_oxford research suggest people are a) worried about what& #39;s real/fake online, b) see domestic politicians as most concerning source of false and misleading information, and c) see social media - esp Facebook - as most concerning platforms
10/15
Point (b) above is important.
Domestic politicians part of these problems. And people know it. And in some countries some of these politicians don& #39;t like free expression/media.
Tools given to Merkel will be used by Orban too, tools given to Conte by the next Berlusconi.
11/15
Domestic politicians part of these problems. And people know it. And in some countries some of these politicians don& #39;t like free expression/media.
Tools given to Merkel will be used by Orban too, tools given to Conte by the next Berlusconi.
11/15
So I think the next steps have to focus on
1 Securing greater transparency + access to data
2 Incentivizing collaboration
3 Investing actual €€€ in strengthening independent media
(That& #39;s leaving aside wider range of policy discussions on competition, data, tax etc)
12/15
1 Securing greater transparency + access to data
2 Incentivizing collaboration
3 Investing actual €€€ in strengthening independent media
(That& #39;s leaving aside wider range of policy discussions on competition, data, tax etc)
12/15
If we don& #39;t get greater transparency+better data, we risk flying blind and let people mark their own homework
If we don& #39;t collaborate, we can& #39;t handle wicked problems
If policymakers don& #39;t invest €€€ in “major challenge for European democracies and societies”. Well...? 13/15
If we don& #39;t collaborate, we can& #39;t handle wicked problems
If policymakers don& #39;t invest €€€ in “major challenge for European democracies and societies”. Well...? 13/15
I& #39;ve written elsewhere (w/ @rgorwa and Madeleine de Cock Buning) on some of the specific policy options available to policymakers on indepedent news media here https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/risj-review/what-can-be-done-digital-media-policy-options-europe-and-beyond">https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/risj-revi...
And support work of e.g. @mozilla Foundation on data sharing, https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2019/03/27/facebook-and-google-this-is-what-an-effective-ad-archive-api-looks-like/
14/15">https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2019...
And support work of e.g. @mozilla Foundation on data sharing, https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2019/03/27/facebook-and-google-this-is-what-an-effective-ad-archive-api-looks-like/
14/15">https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2019...
Finally, it& #39;s easy to write real nice declarations, but people out there are running real nations, the problems are complex, as is the politics.
What has been done inhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇪🇺" title="Flagge der Europäischen Union" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge der Europäischen Union"> is limited, incremental, uneven, but hell of a lot more than other large, complex polities like https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇧🇷" title="Flagge von Brasilien" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Brasilien">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇮🇳" title="Flagge von Indien" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Indien">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇺🇸" title="Flagge der Vereinigten Staaten" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge der Vereinigten Staaten">
15/15
What has been done in
15/15
