March 19, 2018

The High-Level Expert Group on Fake News and Disinformation spread online has published a report suggesting a definition of the phenomenon and making a series of recommendations.

The Group calls for a Code of Principles that online platforms and social networks should commit to. The report complements the first insights from a public consultation and Eurobarometer survey that has also been published. These contributions will feed into the preparation of a Communication on tackling disinformation online which the Commission will publish in spring.

The report focuses specifically on problems associated with disinformation online, rather than “fake news”. The experts deliberately avoided the term “fake news”, saying it is inadequate to capture the complex problems of disinformation that also involves content that blends fabricated information with facts.

The report defines “disinformation” as “false, inaccurate, or misleading information designed, presented and promoted for profit or to intentionally cause public harm.” This can threaten democratic processes, values and can specifically target a variety of sectors, such as health, science, education and finance, the report says. The report underlines the need to involve all relevant parties in any possible action, recommending first and foremost a self-regulatory approach.

The Group recommends: promoting media literacy to counter disinformation; developing tools for empowering users and journalists to tackle disinformation; safeguarding the diversity and sustainability of the European news media; and continuing research into the impact of disinformation in Europe.

The Code of Principles that the Group wants online platforms and social networks to commit to should, the Group says, oblige online platforms to explain how algorithms select the news they publish. In co-operation with European news outlets, the Code should also require platforms to take effective measures to improve the visibility of reliable, trustworthy news and facilitate users’ access to it. These measures are particularly important ahead of electoral periods. Finally, the Group recommends establishing a multi-stakeholder coalition to ensure that the agreed measures are implemented, monitored and regularly reviewed.

The Commission received nearly 3000 replies to its consultation launched in November 2017. Intentional disinformation aimed at influencing elections and migration policies were the top two categories where most respondents thought disinformation was likely to cause harm to society.

According to the latest Eurobarometer survey (around 26,000 citizens interviewed), people believe there is a lot of disinformation across the EU, with 83% of respondents saying that this phenomenon represents a danger to democracy. It emphasised also the importance of quality media: respondents perceive traditional media as the most trusted source of news (radio 70%, TV 66%, print 63%). Online sources of news and video hosting websites are the least trusted source of news, with a trust rate of 26% and 27% respectively.

These results were confirmed in the consultation, which found that respondents have least trust in social media, online news aggregators and online blogs and websites, and more trust in traditional newspapers and magazines, specialised websites and online publications, news agencies and public agencies (overall with more than 70%).

According to the public consultation, the overall perception is that the spread of disinformation via social media is made easy because “fake news” appeals to readers’ emotions (88%), is disseminated to influence public debate (84%) and is done to generate revenue (65%). Half of the respondents believe that fact checking after the disinformation had been published is not a solution, as it would not reach the people that had seen the initial information. To read the European Commission’s press release in full and for a link to the report, consultation and survey, click here.