PanamaTimes

Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Online Manipulation, Hate Must Stop: UN Conference

Online Manipulation, Hate Must Stop: UN Conference

Hundreds of officials, tech firm representatives, academics and members of civil society were invited to the two-day meeting hosted by the UN's cultural fund to brainstorm how to best vet content while upholding human rights.
Digital platforms have changed how we interact, and urgent action is needed to stop the manipulation of users and hate speech, a UN conference in Paris heard today.

Hundreds of officials, tech firm representatives, academics and members of civil society were invited to the two-day meeting hosted by the UN's cultural fund to brainstorm how to best vet content while upholding human rights.

"Digital platforms have changed the way we connect and face the world, the way we face each other," UNESCO director general Audrey Azoulay said in opening remarks.

But "only by fully evaluating this technological revolution can we ensure it is a revolution that does not compromise human rights, freedom of expression and democracy."

Despite their benefits in communication and knowledge sharing, UNESCO has warned that social media platforms rely on algorithms that "often prioritise engagement over safety and human rights".

Azoulay said too few resources were assigned to educate users or moderate content, "which remains non-existent or questionable in most languages."

'A polluted river'

Filipina investigative journalist Maria Ressa, who jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for exposing abuses under former president Rodrigo Duterte, said social media had allowed lies to flourish.

"Our communication systems today are insidiously manipulating us," she told attendees.

"We focus only on content moderation. It's like there is a polluted river. We take a glass... we clean up the water and then dump it back" in, she said.

But "what we have to do is to go all the way to the factory polluting the river, shut it down and then resuscitate the river."

She said that, at the height of online campaigns against her for her work, she had received up to 98 hate messages an hour.

A little over half sought to undermine her credibility as a journalist, including false claims that she peddled "fake news", she said.

The rest were personal attacks targeting her gender, "skin colour and sexuality" -- or even "threats of rape and murder".

'This must stop'

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula earlier addressed the conference in a letter, pointing to how disgruntled supporters of his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro on January 8 invaded the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court in Brasilia.

"What happened that day was the culmination of a campaign, initiated much before, and that used, as ammunition, lies and disinformation," he said.

"To a large extent, this campaign was nurtured, organised, and disseminated through several digital platforms and messaging apps," he added.

"This must stop. The international community needs, from now on, to work to give effective answers to this challenging question of our times."

Facebook whistleblower Christopher Wylie was also to contribute to the discussions.

The data scientist has revealed how he helped Cambridge Analytica, founded by ex-US president Donald Trump's former right-hand man Steve Bannon, to use unauthorised personal data harvested from Facebook to help swing a string of elections, including Trump's US presidential win in 2016.

"Many countries around the world have issued or are currently considering national legislation to address the spread of harmful content," UNESCO said in a statement ahead of the conference.

But "some of this legislation risks infringing the human rights of their populations, particularly the right to freedom of expression and opinion", it warned.

As a result of the conference, UNESCO aims to draw up global guidelines to fight disinformation and hate speech for governments, regulatory bodies and digital companies by mid-2023.
Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Brazilian Congress Rejects Lula's Proposed Tax Increase on Financial Transactions
Landslide in Bello, Colombia, Results in Multiple Casualties
Papa Johns pizza surge near the Pentagon tipped off social media before Trump's decisive Iran strike
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Sole Survivor of Air India Crash Recounts Escape
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Protests Erupt in Los Angeles with Symbolic Flag Burning
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
Japan Grapples with Rice Shortage Amid Soaring Prices
Goldman Sachs Reduces Risk Exposure Amid Market Volatility
HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker to Return to AIA as Non-Executive Chair
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Judge Blocks Trump's Ban on International Students at Harvard
Trump Proposes Travel Ban on 'Uncontrolled' Countries
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Eurozone Inflation Falls Below ECB Target to 1.9%
Call for a New Chapter in Globalisation Emerges
Blackstone and Rivals Diverge on Private Equity Strategy
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Netanyahu Accuses Western Leaders of 'Emboldening Hamas'
Escalating Trade Tensions and Market Reactions
OnlyFans Reportedly in Talks for $8 Billion Sale
JBS Gains Shareholder Approval for U.S. Stock Listing
Booz Allen Hamilton to Cut 2,500 Jobs Amid Federal Spending Reductions
Trump Signs Executive Orders to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Development
Harvard Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration's International Student Ban
Nippon Steel Forms Partnership with U.S. Steel, Headquarters to Remain in Pittsburgh
Trump Expands Tariff Threats to Apple and Samsung Devices
Oracle and OpenAI Plan $40 Billion Nvidia Chip Purchase for AI Data Center
×