Combattiamo la disinformazione perché combattiamo per la democrazia

In the face of disinformation, defenders of democracy are often drawn into endless battles against falsehoods. This is precisely the trap laid by anti-democratic movements. Their aim is not to win the debate, but to waste our time and energy – keeping us busy defending our work instead of advancing it. Rather than playing by their rules, we must focus on protecting our shared rights and strengthening democracy.

In the past months, we have witnessed an acceleration of coordinated messages aimed at twisting reality into absurd contortions.

Disinformation is not alone a challenge to media integrity or electoral security – it is an assault on the fundamental rights that underpin democracy and the rule of law. It threatens individuals’ ability to access reliable information, to express ourselves freely, and to participate meaningfully in public life.

Failure to fight disinformation means the loss of freedom of expression, the loss of freedom of assembly, the loss of freedom from discrimination and more. Most disturbingly, this will ultimately lead to the loss of protection from those in power, but not in office, and those in office but not in power.

Flooding the zone with disinformation, polluting our democracy
When a social media CEO amplifies his breathless screams that an NGO, that has the temerity to simply participate in a roundtable on European regulation, is “destroying democracy”, the message is clear: intimidation. Independent voices – whether in media, civil society, or the judiciary – are targeted and incoherently accused of whatever wild fantasy could be exploited to delegitimise democratic institutions – attacking the accountable, to boost the irresponsible.

Failing to limit the spread of disinformation is a failure to protect free expression; it enables mass manipulation, lies and arbitrary censorship by the most powerful, of all but the most powerful. A failure to nurture our shared information space does not foster open debate – it creates an environment where shouted falsehoods drown out spoken facts, where attacks silence dissent, and where the most powerful dictate and dominate the terms of public discourse.

Mental gymnastics 101 – we are not ministry of truth – we are fighting disinformation. We also decide what is disinformation and what you are allowed to say, think or have access to.

While its an important topic, people tend to label everything not compatible with their own world views as disinformation, therefore i wouldnt trust a government or a private company to do the judgement.

The only way a democracy can stay strong and resilient is by education about critical thinking. 

Sigh. When we argue about the most basic facts with our loved ones who claim the opposite, I think it’s time to engage de-culting methods. Education, yes, but also re-education.

Posting sources for everything also helps a lot. And banning “journalism” that doesn’t provide the original sources, like many online outlets do these days.

Or video clips that actively hide context. Always provide the full video with the clip. If you don’t, you are out.

Don’t ban or insult people for opposing or different opinions. Try to understand why they have them.