| | APRIL 202419A Guidance for Tech Companies to Defend Human Rights Activists OnlineOn another note, the US Secretary of State, Blinken, revealed plans for Washington to release the first guidance of its kind for tech companies aimed at stopping attacks launched against human rights activists and defenders online.A Call for Youths Involvement in DemocracyMembers of the South Korean hosts also conveyed about involving the hands of young generations to partake in democracy in a number of ways through the event.Technology Must Support Democratic Rights and ValuesThe US Secretary of State warned the Democracy Summit about the dangers of disinformation.Blinken spoke about how almost a large part of the world's countries are about to have elections, and dealing with disinformation has become a matter of chaos now.He said that disinformation has found a way to pose itself as a greater threat than before due to emerging technologies, including social media platforms and artificial intelligence.Causing ConfusionsThe nature of the information environment is already known to be fast-changing, but with those new technologies, the situation has been drastically accelerated. This accelerated the pace of disinformation and fed fodder to polarization, adding more confusion to what the people already face about the world around them.Delaying HelpBlinken called out disinformation's capability of having people, about millions, with wrong assumptions and thereby not getting vaccinated, which eventually caused several fatalities during COVID-19. Even for matters relating to climate change, disinformation happened to cause a delay in action during a crisis.Falsehood Diverting Serious DebateSpeaking of the ongoing elections happening around the world, Blinken predicted that citizens and candidates will be hurled with an overwhelming amount of falsehoods that could tumult serious civic debates.Instigating ArgumentsHe even took up the act of adversaries using disinformation to take advantage of the differences inside democratic countries by implanting cynicism and instability. He stressed how it leads to instigating arguments between groups and discrediting institutions.Exposed Countries Propagating CampaignsHe even called out two countries such as China and Russia, for investing heaps of money into promoting propaganda and preventing Western news outlets. He said that China purchased television platforms from Africa, which did not consist of international news channels from subscription packages, and the same in South Asia showed that these platforms supported pro-China news big time. For Russia, media content was being concealed across Latin American channels that eroded global support for Ukraine.As another example, Poland's undersecretary of state at its foreign ministry, Robert Kupiecki, implied that the number of false information spread of Russian propaganda accelerated social media, deepfake techniques and omnipresent bots were more gruesome than the ongoing invasion of Russian actions on Ukraine.His SuggestionsBlinken suggested revitalizing democracy, which could help shape the future of technology that is inclusive, respects rights and that drives progress for people's lives. While authoritarian and repressive regimes use technology to undermine democracy and human rights, we must ensure that it sustains and supports democratic values.AI and Other Technologies Should Support DemocracyThe South Korean President opened the event by highlighting countries's duties to share experiences and wisdom that could allow AI and other technology to uphold democracy.Yeol said that AI and other technology are giving room for fake news and disinformation to thrive, potentially threatening democracy.Impact on National and International SecurityGiven the multitude of difficulties that confront all of our democracies, this platform is desperately required. The creation and management of new technology impact both national and international security and have geopolitical implications. Authoritarian regimes are known to manipulate and tamper with foreign information, especially disinformation, in order to undermine democratic countries.A Head-On ApproachWe must approach this problem head-on. Sweden has taken some significant steps in this regard, and I would like to highlight some of the concepts that we have considered:Uncertainty feeds the spread of misinformation. It is imperative that we communicate our messages loudly and clearly. Our stance on some principles and policies needs to be emphasized, restated and clarified.Proactive Strategic CommunicationOne of the best methods, in our opinion, to strengthen resistance against outside
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