Davos elites push for speech control
NEW YORK, Jan. 26 (C-Fam) Progressive global leaders and executives from major media companies have spoken at the World Economic Forum (WEF) to reaffirm their commitment to "fight" disinformation. This globalist effort is widely recognized as being used to eliminate conservative views on topics such as abortion, gender identity, national sovereignty, and COVID-19.
In response to growing public skepticism about the globalist agenda, the WEF has placed this year's session under the banner of "rebuilding trust." Throughout the event, several speakers reiterated that "disinformation" erodes trust in international institutions and that world leaders have a moral obligation to combat it. However, progressives often use the word "misinformation" to describe anti-globalist and anti-progressive narrative, not necessarily false narrative.
Tirana Hassan, executive director of Human Rights Watch, linked the current "climate of disinformation" to authoritarianism. Hassan said that "the warning signs [of authoritarianism] are emerging... with concepts such as protecting family values or safeguarding our traditions" and that the public needs to pay special attention to them. "They are often self-serving, manipulative,
almost always harm people and restrict human rights."
Hassan went on to say that "women's rights are also under attack... Governments are telling women... whether they can be pregnant or not... in Florida, educational censorship prohibits students from learning about sexual and gender identity."
The WEF's 2024 Global Risks Report cites misinformation and misinformation as the biggest near-term risks. The WEF launched an initiative called "Misinformation and COVID-19 – Strategic Intelligence" that promoted the dominant narrative on the COVID-19 response, but has since removed its webpage.
Meredith Kopit Levien, president and CEO of The New York Times, said that "Google has made real strides in how things are indexed," meaning Google is effective at generating and promoting the "right kind" of content at the top of Google's search results page, while "junk information" is pushed down, which requires a real expedition to find them. Many users are familiar with this phenomenon, especially in the context of COVID-19, when it took surfing through dozens of Google pages to reach unconventional information, only to discover that it was actually accurate.
The task of monitoring speech is also gaining momentum within the EU. In her speech, Ursula von Leyen, President of the European Commission, said that "for the global business community, the main concern of the next two years is not conflict or climate, but 'disinformation and misinformation'. Ms Von Leyen also said that "the values we cherish offline should also be protected online". These values include access to abortion and the legalisation of same-sex marriage, which are among the EU's priorities in UN human rights forums in 2024.
Vera Jourová, European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency, said the EU is "focused on improving the system so that people get the facts right". She praised the online fact-checking functions and said that "[the EU] has all the big technologies under the commitment... [to counter] disinformation."
During their talks, Leyen and Jourová also referred to the Digital Service Act, an EU legislative proposal setting out rules to regulate online platforms and services across the EU. This law has a section on "mitigating risks, such as manipulation and disinformation". From 17 February, the law is expected to be binding on all regulated entities and EU member states will be asked to set up digital service coordinators.
In response to growing public skepticism about the globalist agenda, the WEF has placed this year's session under the banner of "rebuilding trust." Throughout the event, several speakers reiterated that "disinformation" erodes trust in international institutions and that world leaders have a moral obligation to combat it. However, progressives often use the word "misinformation" to describe anti-globalist and anti-progressive narrative, not necessarily false narrative.
Tirana Hassan, executive director of Human Rights Watch, linked the current "climate of disinformation" to authoritarianism. Hassan said that "the warning signs [of authoritarianism] are emerging... with concepts such as protecting family values or safeguarding our traditions" and that the public needs to pay special attention to them. "They are often self-serving, manipulative,
almost always harm people and restrict human rights."
Hassan went on to say that "women's rights are also under attack... Governments are telling women... whether they can be pregnant or not... in Florida, educational censorship prohibits students from learning about sexual and gender identity."
The WEF's 2024 Global Risks Report cites misinformation and misinformation as the biggest near-term risks. The WEF launched an initiative called "Misinformation and COVID-19 – Strategic Intelligence" that promoted the dominant narrative on the COVID-19 response, but has since removed its webpage.
Meredith Kopit Levien, president and CEO of The New York Times, said that "Google has made real strides in how things are indexed," meaning Google is effective at generating and promoting the "right kind" of content at the top of Google's search results page, while "junk information" is pushed down, which requires a real expedition to find them. Many users are familiar with this phenomenon, especially in the context of COVID-19, when it took surfing through dozens of Google pages to reach unconventional information, only to discover that it was actually accurate.
The task of monitoring speech is also gaining momentum within the EU. In her speech, Ursula von Leyen, President of the European Commission, said that "for the global business community, the main concern of the next two years is not conflict or climate, but 'disinformation and misinformation'. Ms Von Leyen also said that "the values we cherish offline should also be protected online". These values include access to abortion and the legalisation of same-sex marriage, which are among the EU's priorities in UN human rights forums in 2024.
Vera Jourová, European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency, said the EU is "focused on improving the system so that people get the facts right". She praised the online fact-checking functions and said that "[the EU] has all the big technologies under the commitment... [to counter] disinformation."
During their talks, Leyen and Jourová also referred to the Digital Service Act, an EU legislative proposal setting out rules to regulate online platforms and services across the EU. This law has a section on "mitigating risks, such as manipulation and disinformation". From 17 February, the law is expected to be binding on all regulated entities and EU member states will be asked to set up digital service coordinators.
