GDPD Weekly | Nov 01, 2024

GDPD Weekly | Nov 1, 2024

THIS WEEK: AI-generated images of a flooded Disney World circulated during recent hurricane coverage, attributed by U.S. officials to Russian state media. The UK sanctioned organizations behind the “Doppelgänger” campaign that clones news websites. Ghana’s electoral commission announced a media monitoring app ahead of December elections, while the EU moves to convert its voluntary platform guidelines into Digital Services Act regulations by January.

Africa

• At a Global Media and Information Literacy Week workshop in Nigeria, Dr. Suemo Jacob warned that the massive scale of internet usage - 4.9 billion people generating 2.5 quadrillion bytes of data daily - poses significant challenges for containing misinformation. Speaking at the UNESCO-supported event, Jacob shared how social media has become the primary news source for 74% of adults, referencing past crises like Nigeria’s Ebola salt-water hoax to illustrate the real-world impact of misinformation.

• According to the International Water Management Institute, the ongoing crisis in Sudan is being significantly exacerbated by the spread of misinformation that downplays the severity of floods, famine, and infrastructure collapse, leading to delayed responses and increased suffering.

• Ghana’s National Media Commission (NMC) has announced plans to launch a new media watch app to combat misinformation during the December 7 General Elections

  “With the upcoming election this could be leveraged, you could see an AI generated video of the EC Chairperson giving the election results even before she herself comes to give the original results, so we have to be careful,” warned Joseph Attoh Antwi, Senior Manager at the Cyber Security Authority.

  • The Ghana News Agency’s General Manager has called for a coordinated approach to combat information disorder ahead of Ghana’s 2024 elections, citing Afrobarometer findings that show misinformation and disinformation have eroded public trust in key institutions.

• Bush Radio and WRHU have launched a significant cross-cultural journalism initiative to combat misinformation through collaborative reporting on major democratic events in the US and South Africa. The 14-month project, supported by the US Consulate in Cape Town, connects emerging journalists from both nations to cover significant events including the 2024 US Presidential Elections and South Africa’s 30th anniversary of democratic elections.

• Moroccan authorities have arrested prominent human rights activist Fouad Abdelmoumni for allegedly spreading false information about Morocco’s relationship with France during President Macron’s state visit. The arrest, which occurred after Abdelmoumni made claims on Facebook about Morocco’s use of migration and intelligence to pressure France, highlights tensions between free expression and government efforts to combat misinformation.

Americas

• A new University of Michigan study has found that Wikipedia demonstrated significant resilience against misinformation during the first year of the Russia-Ukraine War, despite the conflict’s intense information warfare component.
• New research indicates a dramatic increase in deepfake incidents, with a nearly five-fold jump from 2022 to 2023, affecting businesses, government organizations, and healthcare entities across multiple sectors. A new article from Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering institute analyzes the risks of deepfakes and evaluates potential responses from a technical and legislative perspective. Of the 27 bills that have been introduced, only five have been enacted into law.
• A new analysis from the Brookings Institution warns of significant disinformation risks during the upcoming 2024 U.S. presidential election, particularly concerning vote counting and election integrity.
• New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver has identified a coordinated national disinformation campaign about non-citizen voting that has now emerged in her state ahead of the 2024 election. The debunked narrative, despite evidence showing only 24 confirmed cases of non-citizen voting nationwide over two decades according to the Heritage Foundation, is being used to undermine election integrity and potentially set up legal challenges to the 2024 election results.

Disaster Response and Disinfo

• North Carolina officials faced violent threats and protests against FEMA workers during Hurricane Helene recovery efforts due to widespread misinformation, leading to unprecedented security measures including $2.3 million in private security contracts and armed police escorts for aid workers. FEMA had to suspend door-to-door assistance in several counties while both local law enforcement and federal officials scrambled to counter false claims about death toll cover-ups and aid distribution.
• The Biden administration disclosed that Russian, Chinese, and Cuban threat actors amplified hurricane related-misinformation. Russia’s state-owned news agency RIA shared an image on Telegram—likely created using generative artificial intelligence—showing a flooded Walt Disney World in Florida

Asia-Pacific

• According to a new analysis published by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) , Sri Lanka’s legal frameworks intended to counter hate speech and disinformation are instead being used to suppress dissent and enable autocratic control, particularly through the recently passed Online Safety Act and the misapplication of the ICCPR Act. Government-imposed social media blocks following crises have proven ineffective and often hamper pro-peace messaging, while social media platforms’ decreasing transparency and data access have severely limited researchers’ ability to study disinformation patterns.

“Is there a natural limit to the impact of online media on electoral processes and politics more generally?”

• In another post from CSOH: drawing insights from India’s 2024 elections, Communication scholar Rohit Chopra suggest that the impact of online misinformation on electoral processes may be more limited than previously feared, despite sophisticated disinformation campaigns. The experience shows that local issues like employment and cost of living may outweigh the influence of online propaganda, while growing public awareness about fake news may be helping voters make more informed decisions. However, the comparison also reveals key institutional differences between India and the US in how government entities interact with disinformation campaigns.
• After viral social media posts about an alleged campus rape in Lahore led to violent protests and property damage, authorities arrested a woman for allegedly impersonating the victim’s mother and spreading misinformation, charging her under Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and other laws.
• Pakistan’s Punjab province is moving to implement new legislation targeting misinformation, with the provincial assembly speaker emphasizing educational and regulatory approaches to combat fake news on social media.
• In a recent UN Security Council debate, India accused Pakistan of deliberately spreading misinformation regarding Kashmir, while pointing to concerns about the treatment of women from minority communities in Pakistan. “It is despicable, yet entirely predictable, that one delegation has chosen to indulge in mischievous provocation based on their pride and tested tactic of spreading misinformation and disinformation.”
• Bangladesh’s information ministry is emphasizing fact-checking and objective reporting as key tools to combat misinformation, particularly on social media platforms. The government held a workshop which included training for 50 journalists.
• China’s internet regulators are conducting a significant crackdown on social media accounts spreading military-related misinformation, particularly focusing on false claims about conflicts in the South China Sea and fabricated stories about China’s military capabilities. The sweep has targeted specific types of content including fake reports of cyberwarfare with the US and false claims about ship sinkings.
• New research has uncovered a network of cryptocurrency-focused social media accounts systematically amplifying Chinese state propaganda and disinformation on X, with over 1,100 bot accounts tied to both crypto promotion and the “Spamouflage” influence operation. The investigation by VOA Mandarin and DoubleThink Lab found these accounts boosting content from Chinese official sources and spreading anti-Western narratives.
• Following the disclosure by US authorities that Chinese cybercriminals attempted to hack the phones of former president Donald Trump, China has accused the United States of spreading disinformation.

Europe

• Spanish authorities are actively combating the spread of misinformation about flooding and water safety during recent severe weather events, particularly addressing false claims about dam overflow risks and water contamination in Valencia.
• Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation recently held a four-day training seminar in Lviv focused on combating Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI), in partnership with the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency. The event brought together experts from the UK and Sweden to share insights on psychological defense, AI capabilities, and analysis of information threats with Ukrainian civil servants.
• President Volodymyr Zelensky has identified two distinct sources of misinformation about Ukraine’s Victory Plan: Russian propaganda and hesitant international partners who doubt the plan’s feasibility.
• Poland has announced its intention to join the Global Declaration on Information Integrity Online, a Canadian-Dutch initiative already endorsed by 34 countries including major powers like the US, UK, Germany, France, and Japan.
• The Electoral Commission of Ireland has announced plans to publish guidance on AI and deep-fakes ahead of the upcoming general election. The announcement comes in response to recent incidents involving AI-generated content in Irish politics, including a fake endorsement video featuring Taylor Swift and an AI-generated martial arts battle between politicians.

“A fundamental principle of any election in this country is that the citizens have confidence in the democratic process and trust the result,” stated the Electoral Commission.

• The “For platforms it should lead to more meaningful engagement, it should not be a tick the box exercise,” stated Paul Gordon, assistant director at Ireland’s digital services coordinator Coimisiúin na Meán. is taking steps to formalize its voluntary code of practice on disinformation into binding regulations under the Digital Services Act (DSA) by January 2024. The code, which currently has 44 major tech companies as signatories including Google, Meta, and TikTok, will become part of the DSA’s co-regulatory framework, particularly affecting Very Large Online Platforms.

“For platforms it should lead to more meaningful engagement, it should not be a tick the box exercise,” stated Paul Gordon, assistant director at Ireland’s digital services coordinator Coimisiúin na Meán.

• Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has accused opposition parties and civil society organizations of conducting disinformation campaigns following the ruling Georgian Dream party’s controversial 54% victory in the October 26 elections. The accusations come amid significant discrepancies between official results and independent exit polls, and widespread allegations of electoral irregularities. “They [the opposition] don’t want to accept people’s will,” Papuashvili stated, dismissing concerns about electronic vote manipulation and mobile ballot irregularities.
• A recent conference on Russian disinformation has revealed how the Kremlin systematically exploits religious narratives to destabilize societies and undermine democratic institutions, particularly in Ukraine’s occupied territories.
• Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister has highlighted the need for international cooperation and universal approaches in combating disinformation, emphasizing that information vacuums often contribute to the spread of false information. Speaking at UNESCO’s Global Media and Information Literacy Week 2024 conference in Amman, the minister outlined Armenia’s strategic approach to addressing disinformation through its 2024-2026 national concept.

Sanctioning “Doppelgängers”

• The UK has joined the US and EU in sanctioning Russian organizations and individuals behind the “Doppelgänger” disinformation campaign that impersonates legitimate news outlets to spread anti-Ukraine propaganda. The sanctions target the Social Design Agency, its partner Structura, and key executives for orchestrating sophisticated but largely ineffective influence operations across multiple languages and platforms.

“According to Meta, these efforts have been largely ineffective and are increasingly low-quality and high-volume influence attempts, mirroring Russia’s military tactic of attempting to swamp entrenched Ukrainian positions with waves of poorly equipped and trained personnel.”

• The disinformation Network was involved in spreading false rumors about the Princess of Wales and attempting to undermine support for Ukraine.

“Putin is so desperate to undermine European support for Ukraine he is now resorting to clumsy, ineffective efforts to try and stoke unrest,” said Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

• Another prong of Doppelgänger targeting Poland has emerged through the creation of clone websites that mimic legitimate Polish media, as exemplified by a fake version of Polskie Radio (using .icu instead of .pl domain) that spreads anti-EU and anti-Ukraine narratives.
• Several other countries applauded the UK’s sanctions, including France and Canada. Canada has highlighted the impact of Russian disinformation operations that exploit contentious topics such as race and migration, specifically noting the activities of SDA and Structura.

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