UN peacekeepers face greater dangers today than at any time in recent history. That’s because they aren’t only pitted against guns and explosives, but also disinformation. Hate and lies have become increasingly popular weapons of war. And they can be as deadly as conventional missiles. By disinformation I mean deliberate…

Online antisemitism is as old as the internet. At first largely confined to the extremist fringe, in recent years we’ve seen anti-Jewish hate speech leaching from far-right forums onto mainstream platforms. Alarm bells are ringing. We must urgently confront online hate while upholding freedoms. Fringe extremist web communities have long…

News outlets criminalized for critical reporting. Journalists hounded on social media, or even killed, for speaking truth to power. Cash-strapped newsrooms scraping by with a skeleton staff. This is current state of our global free press in the wake of multiple political and financial assaults. Warnings that independent media, and…

We know malicious lies are damaging our societies. But what can we do to stop them? Some pioneering countries and organizations have found a way to push back against that harm while safeguarding freedom of speech. Their answer is to inoculate people against disinformation, much as we do with diseases. …

Women play a vital role in all societies. Afghanistan is no different. The systematic campaign by the country’s de facto authorities to gradually erase women from public life and deny their contribution is an extraordinary act of self-harm. The result will only be more suffering for Afghan people. The decree…

More refugees need our help more than ever. This year, war in Ukraine, the crisis in Afghanistan, the conflict in Ethiopia and fear of persecution have forced record numbers of people from their homes. Yet appeals for help are being drowned out by malicious lies and disinformation. Malevolent narratives about…

Dangerous lies are exploding on Twitter. Anti-vaxxers are among the many bad actors to have exploited the chaos around the platform’s now-paused subscription model, a brief experiment during which anyone was able to buy the blue tick previously reserved for verified accounts. Though short-lived, the misstep has unleashed a tsunami…

If Twitter feels nastier these days, that’s because it is. Media monitors say hate and lies of all kinds have gotten more traction on the platform since it was acquired by self-styled free-speech absolutist Elon Musk. It seems the move has emboldened malicious actors. The trolls are feeling confident. And…

Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter has prompted fears of an explosion of hate and harmful disinformation on the platform. Malicious actors are already testing the limits of the new regime. One study found the prevalence hate speech terms spiked on Twitter in the hours after the takeover. …