Fake news? the misinformation wars

The most controversial legislation of this parliament is the Online Safety Bill.
A central aim is to tackle misinformation – whether in politicking and elections, war-related propaganda or global pandemics. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube are already increasingly censorious in cracking down on, for example, alleged Covid ‘misinformation’ and ‘fake’ reports such as Hunter Biden’s emails or on academics questioning the official line over Russia’s war with Ukraine. Now those services are to be further encouraged to cleanse their platforms of dissenting views or questionable information. Along with an unelected regulator, Ofcom, they’ll have powers to control what we can view, hear or read.

How can we solve the problem of misinformation? Does the online world of anonymity, falsehoods and harms now justify new controls? Where do the boundaries lie between disinformation and genuine disagreement? At a time when even fact checkers are thought to be biased, how do we create a basis for genuine debate when the quest for truth is disfigured by an atmosphere of mistrust?

Speakers
Jessica Butcher MBE - tech entrepreneur; co-founder, Tick.; co-founder, Blippar; commissioner, Equality and Human Rights Commission
Laura Dodsworth - writer; photographer; author, A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic
Professor Bill Durodié - chair of International Relations, department of politics, languages and international studies, University of Bath
Mark Johnson - legal and policy officer, Big Brother Watch

Chair
Bruno Waterfield - Brussels correspondent, The Times

This debate was filmed and edited by the charity WORLDwrite's volunteers at the Battle of Ideas Festival in October 2022. Please help us keep going by supporting our film appeal. For details visit https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/solidarityfilm

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