Securing human rights means fixing the information ecosystem

The author contends that a polluted digital information environment undermines democracy, public trust in institutions, and social cohesion, thereby threatening basic human rights. The text highlights how disinformation fuels climate denial, electoral instability, and hate speech, while calling for a multinational approach involving governments, the UN, and the private sector to regulate harmful content without it being mischaracterized as censorship.

• Disinformation threatens the right to self-determination by compromising civic processes and democratic stability, as evidenced by the January 6th insurrection in the US and the January 8th insurrection in Brazil.
• Climate disinformation has evolved from outright denial to 'delay and deceive' messaging, which targets the goals and solutions of public institutions to undermine support for climate action.
• Disinformation exacerbates social hatred and dehumanization, specifically through the explosion of gendered disinformation against women in politics and a surge in anti-Semitic disinformation after 2020, with France and Germany seeing 7 and 13-fold increases respectively.
• Addressing disinformation requires a multinational effort, including the UN's frameworks, the European Union's Digital Services Act, and private sector pressure to redirect advertising spend away from harmful content.

APA

Index, G. D. (2024). Securing human rights means fixing the information ecosystem. Global Disinformation Index. https://www.disinformationindex.org/blog/2024-01-04-securing-human-rights-means-fixing-the-information-ecosystem/

Chicago

Index, Global Disinformation. Securing human rights means fixing the information ecosystem. Global Disinformation Index, 2024. https://www.disinformationindex.org/blog/2024-01-04-securing-human-rights-means-fixing-the-information-ecosystem/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Index |first1=Global Disinformation |title=Securing human rights means fixing the information ecosystem |publisher=Global Disinformation Index |date=4 January 2024 |url=https://www.disinformationindex.org/blog/2024-01-04-securing-human-rights-means-fixing-the-information-ecosystem/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{index2024securing, author = {Index, Global Disinformation}, title = {{Securing human rights means fixing the information ecosystem}}, publisher = {Global Disinformation Index}, year = {2024}, month = jan, url = {https://www.disinformationindex.org/blog/2024-01-04-securing-human-rights-means-fixing-the-information-ecosystem/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }