Would I lie to you?
How disinformation is taking us through the looking glass
Deep fakes, conspiracy theories, clickbait and phishing. We can no longer believe our own eyes, and AI is not only generating false content, it's supercharging its spread.
Our social media feeds are flooded with messages, sounds and images that may or may not be true. Pandering to our prejudices. Putting literal words in the mouths of political leaders.
Disinformation, or information pollution, isn’t new. Humans have been lying to each other for a long time. Why else would Mark Twain have famously said this?
Lies have always had legs, partly because we have always had the tendency to believe what we want to believe. This doesn’t mean we are gullible, it means that we are human.
But this very human tendency is now getting an able assist from technology, which has catapulted us into the unknown. Boosted by algorithms, false, manipulated and misleading information overturns political and social norms and values, threatens human rights and endangers lives. It undermines the social contract, erodes trust in democratic processes and institutions, and is a catalyst for conflict and division.
It’s ironic that the vast online networks we’ve created to connect with others, and to learn more about the world, play a big role in making it harder to agree on what the truth of that world is.
How do we navigate life, especially online, without harming ourselves or passing harmful disinformation onto others? How do we protect our young children, or elderly parents, from information pollution?
More broadly speaking, how do we protect our societies, our institutions and our very future?
YOUR
ENEMY
The line between misinformation and disinformation is increasingly blurred in this hyperconnected world. Misinformation is false information shared without malicious intent, and is often spread unknowingly. But that doesn't mean it can't be harmful.
Disinformation is deliberate. It’s designed to spread fear and distrust and, especially in the case of elections, to influence your behaviour, or to encourage hopelessness and passivity.
It comes at us fast. The latest “deepfakes” use sophisticated AI tools to create convincing video, audio, and images of anyone, including famous people. It’s known as ‘synthetic media’ and represents enormously damaging potential to spread lies and warp our sense of reality. It can be very hard, if not impossible, to detect.
There are clues to keep an eye out for. Be suspicious of information that seems too good (or bad) to be true, elicits strong emotional responses, like fear or outrage, or is spreading rapidly without being verified by credible sources.
THE
STAKES
It’s especially critical to raise awareness of potential harm as hundreds of millions head to the polls in 2024. The stakes are incredibly high. Disinformation can mislead voters, promote conspiracy theories, undermine confidence in polling data and election monitoring and undermine trust in institutions and the very idea of democracy. Some experts are describing it as a very credible threat to the future of democracy itself.
No. There has always been big money to be made from muddying public discourse, including about public policy and the climate crisis. Even as the evidence becomes more stark and impossible to ignore, truthful scientific information continues to be barraged on all sides by what the UN calls delayism, deflection, division or doomism. These efforts are well-funded and relentless. The UN has launched several initiatives in response, including Verified for Climate and the recently released Global Principles for Information Integrity.
MELISSA
FLEMING
UN Under-Secretary General
for Global Communications
We will deploy best practices in reframing, inoculating, fact-checking and debunking, and to reach those vulnerable to doomism with solutions-based storytelling and messages of agency.
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Disinformation is also eroding peace and security. About 75 percent of UN peacekeepers have reported that it has made their work harder and their lives more dangerous.
WHERE
TO GO
FOR HELP
UNDP leads in defending information integrity in elections. We provide strategic guidance to our partners as they seek to understand information pollution in governance, human rights and social cohesion. We work with the media and in monitoring and analyzing online content. We build public resilience through fact checking and promoting digital literacy. We fight back against hate speech aimed at women, particularly those in public life, and strive to ensure widespread political agreement and engagement on this critical issue. Our work also contributes to combat online and offline hate speech, as these phenomena are often closely related.
As part of its commitment to an open and inclusive public sphere as a cornerstone of democratic governance, UNDP has several teams working on information integrity, including at the Global Policy Centre for Governance.
Building global resilience
Explore UNDP’s information integrity initiatives across the globe. By clicking on different countries or regions, you can delve into specific initiatives and discover their approaches.
NEW WORLD
Trust in others—in institutions, leaders, friends and neighbours—is the bedrock of civil, well-governed, functioning societies. Disinformation is terraforming that foundation. Combating it requires our collective strength if we are to successfully tackle immense global challenges. UNDP is dedicated to improving transparency, trust and accountability by promoting access to reliable information. This is critical for informed public debate and decision-making, and ensuring that people are better informed and engaged in their societies.
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