Bilawal urges UN to form task force to tackle disinformation globally

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday urged the United Nations to form an inter-agency task force to tackle disinformation by holding regular interactions with member states and other stakeholders, Aaj News reported.

"The UN and its agencies should build the capacity of member states, especially the developing countries, to analyse and fact-check and filter information, especially online information," Bilawal said while delivering a virtual address at a meeting of the Group of Friends on Countering Disinformation for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom.

In his address, the foreign minister emphasised that the world must have an "international plan of action to counter disinformation online and offline, in the public and private domain."

Sharing recommendations, Bilawal said that public awareness campaigns promoted by member states and the UN can prove instrumental in tackling the challenge.

Bilawal stressed that financial and technical support should be extended to national and international researchers as well as institutions involved in confronting the issue.

The foreign minister said that the world should make a concerted effort to minimise the negative impact of disinformation on human rights by building firewalls against false information.