Disinformation: The new scourge of global economies

A recent conference on combating disinformation laid bare the extent of the vice on global economies.

The Second Shusha Global Media Forum last month in Shusha City, Azerbaijan came on the backdrop of the Gen Z-led anti-government protests in Kenya, marked by all manner of disinformation, especially concerning the faces behind the demos. They were marked by misleading hashtags such as #KTNGenocideMedia, calling into question the credibility of mainstream media’s reporting on the protests. 

The forum featured four-panel sessions under the themes Impact Assessment: Scoping Disinformation; Policies and Initiatives to Build a More Resilient Society Against Disinformation; The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Reality; Media and Disinformation, Promoting Media Literacy; and Climate Movement and Media.

Participants included media and civil society representatives, representatives of international organisations and media experts from around the world. As I made the more than 4,800km journey to Azerbaijan’s capital Baku before connecting to Shusha, I kept interrogating the term disinformation in the context of what was happening back home. Disinformation is the use of false information with a deliberate intent to mislead. This is often confused with misinformation, which simply put, is inaccurate information or getting facts wrong.

During the opening ceremony of the Second Shusha Global Media Forum, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev made it clear how the theme of confronting disinformation is personal to country. “Unfortunately, our country is the subject of what is today a top topic of the discussion. And it has already, unfortunately, become a part of our life. Sometimes we are surprised when information about Azerbaijan in international media is true. False information, disinformation, manipulation of facts, and false narratives are all things we have faced for many years,” he noted.

The tension between Azerbaijan and its neighbour, Armenia, surfaced swiftly, with the head of state blaming the Western media for propagating disinformation. “The United States imposed sanctions on Azerbaijan back in 1992. We were the subject of aggression, but because of the Armenian lobby in the United States and pro-Armenian members of Congress, we were sanctioned,” said President Aliyev.

“So, it is an absolutely absurd situation. The country is facing a humanitarian crisis, the deportation of a million people, total devastation of the occupied territories, and is being sanctioned because of that. At that time, we didn’t have access to international media outlets. We were just a newly born, independent country.”

Back home, according to the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, Africa is subject to 23 transnational disinformation campaigns—nearly all of which are sponsored by external state actors attempting to assert influence on the continent.

According to the Mapping a Surge of Disinformation in Africa report, East Africa has the second-highest number of documented disinformation campaigns on the continent and the highest percentage (over 60 per cent) of domestically originating campaigns.

Most of these are in two countries - Sudan (14; six domestic) and Kenya (nine; five domestic).

Going by the recent turn of events in Kenya, where civic matters dominate public conversations, the report highlighted that Kenya has seen an unparalleled rise of domestic political disinformation, illustrating a paradox in which democratic countries’ open information spaces can be weaponised against them when rapid technological change occurs without an adequate policy response.

Business potential

Disinformation holds far-reaching consequences, especially at a time when information access and supply have been democratised.

President Aliyev highlighted the economic impact of disinformation on the country. “They not only damage the reputation, but also damage the country’s business potential and investment opportunities, distract attention from the international community to the core issues the country is facing, and concentrate on absolutely unrealistic scenarios,” he told participants. 

Speaking at the forum, the Director of News for the English Channel at Al Jazeera Salah

Negm, insisted that news outlets cannot compromise accuracy, fairness, speed and objectivity when informing the masses. “There is no fake news, just truth and false,” said Mr Negm.

Media players were urged to take the lead in embracing emerging technology, including the utilisation of Artificial Intelligence in churning out more accurate, contextually sound and objective information to the masses.