Information Integrity

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has launched the new UN Global Principles on Information Integrity.

“Threats to information integrity are not new, but they are proliferating and expanding with unprecedented speed on digital platforms, supercharged by AI technologies,” said the Secretary-General, launching the Global Principles.

Technological advances have revolutionized communications, connecting people on a previously unthinkable scale. Yet they have also enabled the spread of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech at an unprecedented volume, velocity and virality.

“False narratives, distortions and lies breed cynicism, disbelief and disengagement,” warned the Secretary-General, adding: “Opaque algorithms push people into information bubbles and reinforce prejudices including racism, misogyny and discrimination of all kinds.”

Developed in consultation with UN member countries, youth leaders, academia, civil society, the private sector, including tech companies and the media, the Global Principles seek to promote a humane information ecosystem based on five key pillars:
Societal trust & resilience
Independent, free & pluralistic media
Healthy incentives
Transparency & research
Public empowerment

The Global Principles aim to empower people to demand their rights and seek reliable and accurate information.

“No one should be at the mercy of an algorithm they don’t control, which was not designed to safeguard their interests, and which tracks...