As digital platforms increasingly shape how young people engage with information, the Norwegian presidency of the Group of Friends on the Safety of Journalists and Media Freedom hosted a round-table discussion in Strasbourg in the presence of young Norwegian free speech defenders and winners of the annual "Free Word" (Fritt Ord-konkurransen) essay competition for high school students.
Focusing on "who owns the truth" in her essay, Vy An Doan wrote: "Where information comes from, different sources and who says what, has on a personal and collective level, formed our understanding of reality".
The event, entitled "Fake or fact? How to combat disinformation in democratic societies", explored how disinformation affects democratic participation and trust in institutions with the aims to foster dialogue on effective strategies to counter disinformation, drawing on recent initiatives such as Norway´s Disinformation Strategy and the Council of Europe´s New Democratic Pact.
"Disinformation often turns real people into victims of technology deliberately misused. Disconnecting us, polarising society, reinforcing insecurities, feeding hate. It is in our power to counter lies with facts, with law, and with education," said Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge in his introductory remarks at the round-table discussion.
He also emphasized that while "Artificial Intelligence is an incredibly powerful tool that makes fake information harder to detect, targeting individuals with tailored content, AI can help detect disinformation and enhance our fact-checking efforts. We must therefore use AI as a weapon against the spread of malicious disinformation."
The Permanent Representative of France to the Council of Europe and Vice Chair of the Group of Friends on the Safety of Journalists and Media Freedom, Ambassador Pap Ndiaye, said in his opening speech that fighting disinformation was an absolute priority to France, especially when his country has been the second target of hostile actors in Europe in 2024, after Ukraine, according to the 3rd EEAS Report on Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) Threats.
The panel included winners of the "Free word"-competition Theodor Slaaen Borge, Vy An Doan, Alexander Røed Tjøsvoll, Helleik Gram Kleivan, as well as the Deputy to the Permanent Representative of Norway to the Council of Europe, Louisa Børresen and Policy Advisor for the New Democratic Pact, Tatiana Monney.
With the New Democratic Pact for Europe, Member States and partners have the opportunity to boost solutions that work to help institutions adapt to fast-moving threats to our information ecosystem and create new solutions to ensure that digital technologies are positive for our democracies and the public.
In addition, the Council of Europe has launched the project RESIST: Strengthening Societal Resilience to Disinformation in Europe, funded by the EEA and Norway Grants, aimed at helping states to strengthen resilience to disinformation and empower young people through media and information literacy.
Speech by Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge
New Democratic Pact for Europe
RESIST: Strenthening Societal Resilience to Disinformation in Europe
Norway and the Council of Europe
France and the Council of Europe
