A WHOLE-OF-NATION APPROACH
When one considers the long run threats that loom on the horizon, it’s clear {that a} holistic, whole-of-nation strategy to growing options is required.
As noticed in different international locations, fact-checking efforts too might be weaponised or politicised, with totally different sides of political divides deploying fact-checkers to undermine each other.
Past the rising divisiveness this may encourage in societies, one other impact might be to confuse most people to the purpose that belief in any supply of knowledge – together with credible platforms reminiscent of established media outlets – diminishes irreparably.
As such, what is required for a long-term, sustainable and sturdy counter to misinformation and disinformation is for all stakeholders to return collectively to work for a standard aim.
In Singapore, the federal government has enacted legal guidelines geared toward stopping on-line falsehoods from being unfold. On the identical time, instructional efforts have been deployed by educational establishments and organisations such because the Nationwide Library Board to construct higher information, media and knowledge literacy.
This must be paired with the work by tech corporations, unbiased fact-checkers and media shops to make sure that sources of disinformation are restricted and disempowered, whereas additionally encouraging the event of high-quality, trusted and credible sources of factual data.
If there’s any small silver lining from Meta’s choice to tug again from fact-checking and content material moderation and its subsequent results – it’s that it serves as a reminder of the fact of the threats we face as a society from faux information and disinformation, and the way an informed, knowledgeable and activated citizenry is likely to be our greatest wager to overcoming present and future threats.
Nicholas Fang is a former journalist and Nominated Member of Parliament. He’s additionally the founder and managing director of Black Dot Analysis, a market and social analysis company that operates Singapore’s main unbiased fact-checking platform.
