On 1 May to align with World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, the UN Secretary-General called for greater protection of journalists who are providing the “antidote” to what he has characterised as a pandemic of misinformation surrounding the Covid-19 crisis. A day before, the International Observatory of Human Rights (IOHR) hosted a webinar with the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) on the ongoing “infodemic” and the role of journalists and reporting.
António Guterres made the appeal in a video message in which he underscored the crucial role media has in helping people make informed decisions. He added that under the current circumstances, those decisions can make the difference between life and death.
“As the pandemic spreads, it has also given rise to a second pandemic of misinformation, from harmful health advice to wild conspiracy theories”, he said. “The press provides the antidote: verified, scientific, fact-based news and analysis.”
IOHR, having also witnessed the increase of misinformation, organised a webinar together with ICFJ on the so-called infodemic on Thursday 30 April. The word “infodemic” was coined by the World Health Organisation’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus who in February said in a speech:
“Fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus, and is just as dangerous […]. We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an “Infodemic”.
Dr Julie Posetti, who is Global Director of Research for the ICFJ and one of the speakers at the webinar, started out with explaining the distinction between unintentionally false information (misinformation) and deliberately manipulated facts (disinformation). She also spoke of the role of journalists and said:
“Journalists find themselves in two roles: combatting disinformation […], but also as targets of harassment, abuse and other forms of digital violence.”
David Kaye, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, has reported that since the start of the disease outbreak, he has received “alarming accounts” of retaliation against journalists, under the guise of spreading disinformation and in his video message, Mr. Guterres urged governments to protect journalists and others who work in media, and to uphold press freedom.
He said while temporary movement constraints are essential to beat back COVID-19, “they must not be abused as an excuse to crack down on journalists’ ability to do their work”.
In his report, Mr. Kaye also underlined the critical role of a free press, especially during a health crisis.
“At a time when disease outbreaks spread through detention facilities, detention’s cruelty is exposed, imposing an additionally excessive punishment that carries with it the risk of illness and death”, said Mr. Kaye, who is not a UN staff member nor paid by the Organization. “The criminalisation of journalism must end. That can start with releasing journalists from detention as a matter of urgency”.
Martin Schibbye, a journalist who was imprisoned in Ethiopia for 14 months and the editor-in-chief of the publishing outlet Blankspot, also spoke at the webinar, saying:
“As journalists we need to ask what our role is in this?”
Similar to Guterres, as the false information around Covid-19 continues to surround us, Schibbye said that journalists and accurate reporting is one solution. He also emphasised the need for increased media literacy.
“We’ve now learnt to wash our hands all over the world, now we need to learn media literacy,” Schibbye said. “Everyone is looking for credible, fact-checked journalism now.”
Another speaker, Tom Phillips, the Editor of Full Fact, an independent fact-checking charity based in the UK, pointed out that we all have a responsibility not to spread misinformation, but he also pointed out that it is difficult to know what is true in these uncertain times.
“It is understandable,” he said, “that in a confusing and scary time people’s sense of what’s implausible and plausible disappears.”
Natalia Antelava, co-founder of Coda Story, an investigative journalism platform, and a panellist, said that “platforms and media also have a lot of responsibility”. As digital journalism is on the rise and more and more people consume news online, Dr Posetti said that there is a “significant opportunity for journalists to hold platforms to account just as they hold governments to account”.
In his press freedom day message, the UN Secretary-General thanked the media “for providing facts and analysis; for holding leaders – in every sector – accountable; and for speaking truth to power”.