In conversation with Robert Skinner, Senior Special Advisor, United Nations Global Communications

Could you please share details about United Nation’s Verified initiative and Pause Day?

It is increasingly clear that we cannot successfully tackle the pandemic without also addressing misinformation. That’s why the United Nations is working with media, high profile supporters and civil society around the world to create a global moment which raises awareness and encourages people to take a moment’s pause before they share. Instead of focusing on traditional media literacy, Pause is a new approach to tackling misinformation. Drawing on research from psychologists, neuroscientists and behavioural scientists, it aims to change the behaviour of internet users by disrupting the impulse to share shocking or emotive content.

The Pause campaign is part of the Verified initiative, which was launched by the UN Secretary-General in May to help combat the COVID-19 infodemic. During COVID-19, misinformation is deadly and undermines our collective ability to fight the pandemic. Verified aims to deliver trusted information, life-saving advice and stories from the best of humanity to people around the world. This includes science-based health information and tools that can help people protect themselves, and their loved ones, against misinformation.

How misinformation is making India’s fight more difficult against COVID-19?

Though the crisis of fake news is not limited to India, the country’s rapidly growing internet base is on the radar of most social media companies, making more and more people susceptible to fake news and disinformation campaigns which can cost lives.

In the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, we’ve seen a lot of misinformation about fake cures. Some of these are harmless, but might stop people from getting the care they need. In the worst cases, those fake cures can actually themselves be harmful or even deadly. A lot of misinformation also seeks to divide us, by casting blame on specific nations or groups of people. But if we are to combat COVID-19 effectively, we need to work together within nations and between nations.

Do you think India’s health illiteracy is becoming an issue behind spreading misinformation? If yes, please share some insights.

The infodemic is not an issue that is specific to India. It is a global problem and is created both by the proliferation of misinformation, which is inaccurate content that is often spread innocently by people looking for answers in this crisis, and disinformation, which are messages that are intentionally spread by actors with agendas of some sort.

Because COVID-19 is a new disease, information can change as we learn more, which is why it is critical that we all use trusted sources to get our information. This is what Verified and the Pause campaign are all about. We are sharing the latest, factual, science-based information with this Initiative, and asking people to Pause before they share something that may be from a non-reputable source or possibly outdated.

What are the key challenges you see when it comes to containing the spread of misinformation?

The speed at which information travels around the world today makes combating misinformation incredibly challenging. Rumours, myths and even lies can travel around the world in the blink of an eye. And once a piece of misinformation is out there, it can be incredibly difficult to root it out. We’ve seen cases, for example, where the same piece of misinformation keeps resurfacing in different places throughout the pandemic. We can all play a part in helping slow down the spread of misinformation by pausing before we share. But we also need technology companies to play their part. That’s why the Secretary-General has called on technology platforms to take steps to implement more friction in their sharing mechanisms to support this and we’ve seen a number of positive steps in this direction.

What are the interventions undertaken in India to support this campaign? Could you please the impact of the work done in India till now as part of this initiative?

In India, many organisations and corporates recognize the urgency of the situation and have supported Verified. We have worked to amplify the emerging movement of fact checking organisations and experts by helping them reach mass audiences across the entire country, in 11+ languages and working with 12 distribution platforms. We have reached over 100 million people digitally. Collaborators have included major businesses like Tata group, Flipkart and Mahindra, as well as community organisations such as Gram Vaani and People Like Us Create. On the world social media day, when Verified introduced the Pause concept, participation from India was the second highest of any country globally.

Your thoughts on the need for stringent guidelines to anti-misinformation actions around the world

We need a number of complementary approaches to tackle this problem, and that's what Verified is doing. We know that to ultimately solve this problem, we need global cooperation at the highest levels. The UN is working with media platforms and governments to encourage them to take steps to stop the spread of misinformation. But those efforts will take time, and the damage inflicted by misinformation is increasing by the day. We can also do something right now - that’s why we are calling on citizens to take action themselves by pausing before they share.

Anything else that you would like to highlight or emphasize on

The United Nations has also warned that the amplification of inaccurate or harmful information and ideas on social media exacerbates some of the most pressing issues of our time. It foments hate, twists elections, skews understanding of challenges like climate change, exacerbates conflict, undermines trust in institutions and exposes children and the vulnerable to dangerous ideas or people.

Misinformation, like all the major issues facing our planet -- whether that is COVID-19 or climate change or hate speech -- can only be effectively tackled if we work together on a global level. We celebrate United Nations Day on Saturday during the UN’s 75th Anniversary. For 75 years, we have been working to promote peace, security and better lives for everyone. We ask citizens the world over to join us as we move into the next 75 years.