SHUSHA, Azerbaijan, July 13. Effective efforts
to counter disinformation are only possible through joint action by
governments, media outlets, online platforms and society, while
professional journalism should remain the main tool for
strengthening trust and peace, Trend's special correspondent reports from the
event.
Kanat Iskakov, First Vice Minister of Culture and Information of
Kazakhstan, made the remarks while speaking at a panel session
titled "Peacebuilding and Public Discourse Through the Lens of
Media" held as part of the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum.
"With the development of information technologies, opportunities
for information dissemination have expanded, but at the same time
the information environment has become more complex. Ignoring
existing rules leads to serious consequences: the spread of
disinformation, the loss of trust between various participants in
public life, reduced accountability and, most importantly, the
erosion of trust and weakening of international relations.
Disinformation is used not only to manipulate public opinion but
also to fuel conflicts between countries and peoples, and within
states — to spread hatred and destabilize society," Iskakov
said.
He said one of the key areas in combating disinformation is
close cooperation with digital platforms and increasing
transparency regarding distributed content.
"We consider cooperation with online platforms extremely
important. Content created using artificial intelligence must be
clearly labeled so that users can understand its origin. This is an
important legislative measure, and Kazakhstan has already made
significant progress both in refuting false information and in
cooperation with the world's largest digital platforms," he
said.
Iskakov emphasized that adherence to professional journalistic
standards also plays an important role.
"Responsible journalism based on accuracy, objectivity,
fact-checking and respect for different points of view is the best
defense against the escalation of conflicts in the information
space. At the same time, it is necessary to maintain a balance
between freedom of speech and protecting society from manipulative
information," he said.
The First Vice Minister also highlighted the need to improve
media literacy among the public and expand international
cooperation.
"Together with civil society and educational institutions, we
must develop media literacy programs so that people can critically
assess information and recognize disinformation. At the same time,
no country can effectively address this problem alone. It is
precisely at such international platforms that we must exchange
experience, develop common mechanisms and jointly reduce the
negative consequences of the spread of false information," Iskakov
added.
