Working group set up to combat disinformation in Ireland

A new multi-stakeholder working group has been established to co-ordinate efforts to combat disinformation.

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, welcomed the establishment of the working group, which was among the recommendations in The Future of Media Commission report.

The report called for a more coordinated and strategic approach to combat the damaging impact of disinformation on Irish society and democracy.

In a statement, the Minister said: “We know that disinformation is complex and damaging. This means that no one approach can solve it. That’s why this working group has been established, to bring together key stakeholders across Government, industry, academia and civil society to develop an overarching strategy to promote a joined-up approach that aims to reduce the creation and spread of false and harmful material.”

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The group’s work, which gets underway later this week, will include a review of existing media literacy initiatives, and the identification of tools and mechanisms to address disinformation and ways to better coordinate national efforts to counter organised campaigns of manipulation of internet users in Ireland, she said.

There will be a public consultation as part of the process and the aim is to complete the strategy by the end of this year.

Co-ordinated by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media, the working group comprises representatives from industry, academia, civil society and Government Departments.

Martina Chapman, national coordinator of Media Literacy Ireland and an independent media literacy consultant, has been nominated to independently chair the group.

The Future of Media Commission Report set out aims for the National Counter Disinformation Strategy and the group’s work will reflect those aims, including the co-ordination of national efforts to counter organised coordinated campaigns of manipulation of Irish internet users.

The group will consider measures to support innovation in fact-checking and disinformation research and to provide support for innovation in areas critical to compliance with the new regulatory environment created by the Digital Services Act.

The group’s work will acknowledge the important role that free, independent, high-quality journalism plays in countering disinformation, and align with efforts to protect the supply of public interest information at local and national level.