The report warns that current strategies to address disinformation, focused on content moderation and digital literacy, are insufficient without a structural approach that considers the power dynamics in information ecosystems. It also highlights the need to foster research in the Global South to counteract the marked Western bias, to broaden perspectives and to ensure equitable access to data to better understand the impact of information on democracy
The report highlights the urgent need to address regional, scientific and corporate power asymmetries to ensure effective governance of information ecosystems. In a context marked by drastic changes in the content policies of platforms such as Meta, the document stresses that regulatory decisions must be based on scientific evidence and not on technological or commercial interests.
Based on the collective analysis of 2,700 publications compiled by a global network of more than 400 experts in 84 countries, the report covers topics such as the impact of artificial intelligence on information, the relationship between media, politics and trust, and data governance. This work shows how disinformation is both an expression and a cause of democratic regression.
A key finding is the need to rethink the approach to disinformation and political polarization. While the media debate and policies have focused on the relationship between disinformation and political division, the studies analyzed fail to scientifically establish this link. The report proposes that, in addition to addressing the problem from content moderation and digital literacy, it is necessary to address the power structures and institutional influences that underpin these problems.
The paper also introduces the concept of data justice, referring to the need for equitable treatment in the collection, use and distribution of data, and argues that the monetization of data by large platforms weakens public trust and facilitates the manipulation of information. To counter this situation, it advocates for more equitable access to data and a fair distribution of resources in digital governance.
One of the central points of the report is the identification of gaps in research on information ecosystems, evidencing a marked Western bias, limited access to data from technology companies and a lack of a focus on structural power dynamics. Despite efforts to collect relevant literature at a global level, only 22.5% of the 1,664 studies cited come from outside the Global North. This highlights the need to encourage research in countries in the Global South and other regions, and to better consider the experiences of their citizens.
About the Observatory and the development of the report
The Observatory on Information and Democracy is an initiative of the Forum on Information and Democracy, which brings together 55 democratic States and has the mission of periodically assessing the impact of information ecosystems on democracy and promoting the accountability of governments and technology companies.
The Observatory is a research and policy-making initiative that was driven by public figures such as Maria Ressa, Shoshana Zuboff, Ángel Gurría and Christophe Deloire, and is supported by leading academics and experts such as Jun Murai, Frances Haugen, Gérald Bronner, Anya Schiffrin and Timothy Garton Ash. It brings together a global network of more than 400 academics and civil society leaders, with the aim of producing periodic assessments on the impact of information ecosystems on democracy and promoting evidence-based policies.
The report Information ecosystems and democracy in crisis aligns with the objectives of the UN Global Digital Compact, to underline the need to design data-driven policies in order to combat technology-facilitated violence, hate speech and disinformation. In this regard, it urges governments, civil society organisations and private sector leaders to rethink digital governance, invest in building sustainable and inclusive information ecosystems, and encourage the development of agreed measurement frameworks for the regulation of platforms.
The report is aimed at policymakers, researchers, civil society and technology companies, with the ambition of becoming a reference document, similar to the IPCC in the field of climate change. Based on rigorous scientific evidence, it provides a framework for developing concrete actions to protect democracy in the digital age.
The full document, along with thematic summaries and an interactive literature map, is available on the Observatory on Information and Democracy website.
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Artificial intelligence, information integrity and democracy (chapter 3)
News media, information integrity and the public sphere (chapter 2)