Global MIL Week: Greater digital literacy essential in combating disinformation — UNESCO Director-General

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Audrey Azoulay has called for increased efforts to promote media and information literacy in the digital age to counter the spread of disinformation online.

In a message for Global Media and Information Literacy Week scheduled to take place from 24-31 October, Ms Azoulay warned that while digital networks have enabled greater freedom of expression, they have also enabled the proliferation of false information, hate speech and conspiracy theories.

“We face a paradox: while the digital revolution has enabled the spread of democratic ideals and the diversity of cultural expressions, it now poses serious challenges for our democracies, as disinformation and hate speech proliferate on social networks, particularly revolving around international conflicts and crises,” she said.

Ms Azoulay stressed that media and information literacy has become “an essential skill for the twenty-first century” that can help social media users develop critical thinking and fact-check information.

UNESCO will soon publish guidelines to better regulate digital platforms and is training teachers and students in media literacy, but more commitment is needed from digital companies, she added.

“It is now up to the international community to provide a response that fully addresses these issues that concern us all,” Ms Azoulay posited.