UN / FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
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STORY: UN / FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
TRT: 2:43
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 17 OCTOBER 2022, NEW YORK CITY
SHOTLIST:
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, flags outside UN headquarters
17 OCTOBER 2022, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Khan on podium, journalists, press room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion, United Nations:
“Historically, information has always been manipulated during war, but now, enabled by digital technology and social media, States, armed groups, and their agents are weaponizing information to sow confusion, feed hate, incite violence, discredit human rights defenders and journalists and disrupt humanitarian activities and also prolong conflict.”
4. Med shot, journalists, press room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion, United Nations:
“During armed conflict, people are at their most vulnerable and in great need of accurate, trustworthy information. That is precisely when they are being hit now, with false or manipulated information as well as internet shutdowns, slowdowns, information blackouts, and other restrictions. Journalists are a key source of information during conflict, but, you know, journalists are being killed with 90 percent impunity.”
5. Wide shot, Khan on podium, journalists, press room
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion, United Nations:
“And we have seen concepts are being turned on their heads. For instance, when factual information and independent media are delegitimized as fake news. UN Human Rights Reports are discredited and patently false state propaganda is promoted as facts. Examples are so clear that I don't even need to name names here.”
7. Med shot, journalists, press room
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion, United Nations:
“States must reaffirm that the right to information is not a legitimate target of war. It is a fundamental human right. And States must recognize freedom of expression as a survival right, essential for people's lives, health, safety, security, and dignity.”
9. Wide shot, Khan on podium, journalists, press room
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion, United Nations:
“Using national security and counterterrorism laws to restrict speech, censoring critical voices, attacking independent media, disrupting the internet do nothing to combat disinformation, and much erode freedom of expression, human rights, but also people's trust in information. And that trust in information is vital in conflict situations for resolving conflicts and for protecting civilians. And the best antidote to disinformation which I've said before, is trustworthy public information, access to diverse verifiable sources of information, promotion of independent media, investment in digital literacy.”
11. Wide shot, Khan on podium, journalists, press room
STORYLINE:
Protect freedom of expression as a vital ‘survival right’ of civilians in armed conflict, a UN expert said.
Briefing reporters today (17 Oct) following her address to the third committee of the UN General Assembly, Irene Khan, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of freedom of opinion and expression, said that the information environment has become a dangerous theatre of war in the digital age.
Presenting her report on disinformation and freedom of opinion and expression during armed conflicts, Khan said that State and armed groups, enabled by digital technology and social media, were weaponizing information to sow confusion, feed hate, incite violence, discredit human rights defenders, disrupt humanitarian activities and prolong conflict.
“During armed conflict, people are at their most vulnerable and in great need of accurate, trustworthy information. That is precisely when they are being hit now with false or manipulated information as well as internet shutdowns, slowdowns, information blackouts, and other restrictions,” Khan said.
She added that journalists are a key source of information during conflict, yet they are being killed with 90 percent impunity.
“The right to information is not a legitimate target of war,” the Special Rapporteur said.
Khan said the freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to seek, receive and disseminate diverse sources of information, must be upheld by States in times of crises and armed conflict as a precious ‘survival right’ on which people’s lives, health, safety, security, and dignity depend.
The expert denounced State-led and State-sponsored disinformation and propaganda and said information was being instrumentalized to inflict harm on civilians.
“Factual information and independent media are delegitimized as ‘fake news’, and UN human rights reports are discredited while patently false government propaganda is promoted as facts,” Khan said, and added, “examples are so clear that I don't even need to name names here.”
The Special Rapporteur urged States to ensure that all measures to combat disinformation online and offline were fully in line with international human rights standards.
She warned that using national security and counter-terrorism laws to restrict speech, censoring critical voices, attacking independent media, and disrupting the Internet, do nothing to combat disinformation and much to erode freedom of opinion and expression as well as public trust in the integrity of information which is vital for preventing and resolving conflicts as well as protecting civilians.
“The best antidote to disinformation is access to diverse and verifiable sources of information, independent, free, pluralistic and diverse media, trustworthy public information, and media, information and digital literacy," she said.
Given the role of social media in amplifying manipulated information, the Special Rapporteur urged companies to carry out enhanced human rights due diligence in line with United Nations guidelines, adopt effective, human rights-compliant policies, processes, and business practices, ensure user security and improve their own transparency and accountability.
Acknowledging measures by some companies to improve crisis response, she called on them to respond with an equal commitment to all conflict situations in which they operate.
Khan noted that the new paradigm of information manipulation in the digital age has exposed gaps, weaknesses and ambiguities in international law. She called for international humanitarian law to be strengthened so that the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the information environment can be better protected during armed conflict.
The challenges and digital threats to information and the information environment are complex and must be tackled with collaborative multistakeholder approaches that fully engage civil society and traditional media alongside States, international organizations, and digital companies in a range of legal and non-legal measures, Khan said.
Special Rapporteurs are part of the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council and work on a voluntary basis. They are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
TRT: 2:43
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 17 OCTOBER 2022, NEW YORK CITY
SHOTLIST:
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, flags outside UN headquarters
17 OCTOBER 2022, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Khan on podium, journalists, press room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion, United Nations:
“Historically, information has always been manipulated during war, but now, enabled by digital technology and social media, States, armed groups, and their agents are weaponizing information to sow confusion, feed hate, incite violence, discredit human rights defenders and journalists and disrupt humanitarian activities and also prolong conflict.”
4. Med shot, journalists, press room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion, United Nations:
“During armed conflict, people are at their most vulnerable and in great need of accurate, trustworthy information. That is precisely when they are being hit now, with false or manipulated information as well as internet shutdowns, slowdowns, information blackouts, and other restrictions. Journalists are a key source of information during conflict, but, you know, journalists are being killed with 90 percent impunity.”
5. Wide shot, Khan on podium, journalists, press room
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion, United Nations:
“And we have seen concepts are being turned on their heads. For instance, when factual information and independent media are delegitimized as fake news. UN Human Rights Reports are discredited and patently false state propaganda is promoted as facts. Examples are so clear that I don't even need to name names here.”
7. Med shot, journalists, press room
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion, United Nations:
“States must reaffirm that the right to information is not a legitimate target of war. It is a fundamental human right. And States must recognize freedom of expression as a survival right, essential for people's lives, health, safety, security, and dignity.”
9. Wide shot, Khan on podium, journalists, press room
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion, United Nations:
“Using national security and counterterrorism laws to restrict speech, censoring critical voices, attacking independent media, disrupting the internet do nothing to combat disinformation, and much erode freedom of expression, human rights, but also people's trust in information. And that trust in information is vital in conflict situations for resolving conflicts and for protecting civilians. And the best antidote to disinformation which I've said before, is trustworthy public information, access to diverse verifiable sources of information, promotion of independent media, investment in digital literacy.”
11. Wide shot, Khan on podium, journalists, press room
STORYLINE:
Protect freedom of expression as a vital ‘survival right’ of civilians in armed conflict, a UN expert said.
Briefing reporters today (17 Oct) following her address to the third committee of the UN General Assembly, Irene Khan, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of freedom of opinion and expression, said that the information environment has become a dangerous theatre of war in the digital age.
Presenting her report on disinformation and freedom of opinion and expression during armed conflicts, Khan said that State and armed groups, enabled by digital technology and social media, were weaponizing information to sow confusion, feed hate, incite violence, discredit human rights defenders, disrupt humanitarian activities and prolong conflict.
“During armed conflict, people are at their most vulnerable and in great need of accurate, trustworthy information. That is precisely when they are being hit now with false or manipulated information as well as internet shutdowns, slowdowns, information blackouts, and other restrictions,” Khan said.
She added that journalists are a key source of information during conflict, yet they are being killed with 90 percent impunity.
“The right to information is not a legitimate target of war,” the Special Rapporteur said.
Khan said the freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to seek, receive and disseminate diverse sources of information, must be upheld by States in times of crises and armed conflict as a precious ‘survival right’ on which people’s lives, health, safety, security, and dignity depend.
The expert denounced State-led and State-sponsored disinformation and propaganda and said information was being instrumentalized to inflict harm on civilians.
“Factual information and independent media are delegitimized as ‘fake news’, and UN human rights reports are discredited while patently false government propaganda is promoted as facts,” Khan said, and added, “examples are so clear that I don't even need to name names here.”
The Special Rapporteur urged States to ensure that all measures to combat disinformation online and offline were fully in line with international human rights standards.
She warned that using national security and counter-terrorism laws to restrict speech, censoring critical voices, attacking independent media, and disrupting the Internet, do nothing to combat disinformation and much to erode freedom of opinion and expression as well as public trust in the integrity of information which is vital for preventing and resolving conflicts as well as protecting civilians.
“The best antidote to disinformation is access to diverse and verifiable sources of information, independent, free, pluralistic and diverse media, trustworthy public information, and media, information and digital literacy," she said.
Given the role of social media in amplifying manipulated information, the Special Rapporteur urged companies to carry out enhanced human rights due diligence in line with United Nations guidelines, adopt effective, human rights-compliant policies, processes, and business practices, ensure user security and improve their own transparency and accountability.
Acknowledging measures by some companies to improve crisis response, she called on them to respond with an equal commitment to all conflict situations in which they operate.
Khan noted that the new paradigm of information manipulation in the digital age has exposed gaps, weaknesses and ambiguities in international law. She called for international humanitarian law to be strengthened so that the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the information environment can be better protected during armed conflict.
The challenges and digital threats to information and the information environment are complex and must be tackled with collaborative multistakeholder approaches that fully engage civil society and traditional media alongside States, international organizations, and digital companies in a range of legal and non-legal measures, Khan said.
Special Rapporteurs are part of the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council and work on a voluntary basis. They are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
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