A Global Fight: How Nations Around the World Are Tackling Misinformation
In recent years, governments across the globe have recognized the profound impacts of disinformation, and misinformation more broadly. The Disinformation Research Team examined key actions taken by governments around the world to address disinformation and misinformation, finding some approaches that were unique and others that were recurrent. For more details regarding government actions to address disinformation and misinformation, read the complete report below:
Executive Summary
In recent years, governments across the globe have recognized the profound impacts of disinformation, and misinformation more broadly. Responses have varied, ranging from government-affiliated fact-checking resources and misinformation reporting portals, to nationwide blocking of social media platforms and criminal penalties for those who spread misinformation. New social media regulations and education have also emerged as common responses, with education showing particular promise among long-term solutions to misinformation.
Key Government Actions
· Africa
o Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, and Kenya have leveraged new and existing laws to criminalize the spread of misinformation online, with penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment. Nigeria is also considering a bill that proposes prison time for individuals who post “false statements of fact”.
o Egypt passed a law in 2018 authorizing penalties for traditional media outlets that spread fake news, and also labels any social media account with more than 5,000 followers as a media outlet and therefore subject to misinformation penalties.
o In 2018, Uganda introduced a tax on social media usage. Beyond adding a revenue stream, President Museveni expressed the belief that the tax will help the country cope with the “gossiping” that occurs on these platforms.
· Asia
o Cambodia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand have leveraged new and existing laws to criminalize the spread of misinformation online, with penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment.
o Vietnam passed legislation in 2018 requiring social media firms to maintain offices and data storage within the country.
o India, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka have resorted to internet shutdowns that block popular social media platforms, particularly during periods of heightened domestic violence.
· Europe
o Finland, Sweden, and The Netherlands have all been focusing on promoting media literacy among their populations.
o In 2018, France adopted fake news laws requiring platforms to establish a way for users to flag false information. A recently passed law also requires French public schools to teach students how to navigate and critically analyze online information.
o Italy created an online portal in 2018 where citizens can report misinformation to national police for investigation.
· North and South America
o In 2019, Canada established a “Critical Election Incident Public Protocol” tasked with notifying the public if significant foreign interference is detected in the electoral process. The government also released Canada’s Declaration on Electoral Integrity Online to promote cooperation between the Canadian government and social media companies.
o In Mexico, President Obrador’s staff launched a fact-checking unit in 2019 called “Verificado Notimex”, which is intended to debunk misinformation on social media.
o In early July 2020, Brazil’s Senate passed a bill that, if adopted, will require social media firms to ban inauthentic accounts, store widely shared message chains for fifteen days, ban the use of tools that enable mass messaging, and maintain offices in Brazil. Firms that do not comply could face fines or a country-wide block of their platform(s).
o Argentina launched an online platform in April 2020 to combat COVID-19 misinformation and provide official data.
Government styles and attributes have seemed to play a noticeable role in these efforts to fight misinformation. Regimes with more authoritarian or restrictive tendencies have tended to favor criminalization or internet restrictions, while regimes generally perceived as strongly democratic were more inclined to pursue educational initiatives as they balance greater free speech considerations. Increased regulation of social media firms was a relatively consistent approach, with many nations introducing new requirements for specific platform features and public-private sector cooperation.
With regard to foreign disinformation campaigns, it is unlikely that criminalization will prove an effective countermeasure. Disinformation actors generally operate outside of the target country and will not be subjected to that country’s judicial system. Recent efforts to hinder, or temporarily block, social media usage altogether have often frustrated users and eroded public trust, as was the case in Egypt, Indonesia, Uganda in the last two years.
While not without its own shortcomings due to the human propensity for bias, Finland’s education model has frequently been touted as a recent success story in the fight against misinformation. Finland labeled “media and information literacy” a civic competence in the 1960s, and ranked first out of 35 European countries in a 2018 study measuring resilience to the “post-truth phenomenon”.
As the internet proliferates more broadly across the globe and disinformation actors work to adapt their tactics to circumvent mitigation efforts, it will be important for nations to continuously reassess their approaches.
This product was created by a team of graduate students from American University’s School of International Service. The work herein reflects the team’s research, analysis, and viewpoints.
