Sri Lanka (Commonwealth) _ In areas of public interest, the Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) oversees the government of Sri Lanka’s operational response to disinformation threats disseminated by mainstream media. It also makes sure the government takes the appropriate actions to recognize and address acute misinformation, or information that is inaccurate or misleading, and disinformation, or information that is intentionally created to cause harm.
The President Media Unit established the CDU, a new media division, with the goal of quickly responding to news reports and ensuring that the public is not misled and that the least amount of damage is done for the grieved party involved. This move was made in an attempt to address the potential consequences of fabricated and artificially planted information about any person or thing in Sri Lanka.
This effort aims to protect freedom of expression and media independence. “This is being done exclusively to stop false information about anything in the nation, so it will never adversely affect any media organization or media personality,” Mr. Dhanushka Ramanayaka, Director General of President Media, stated in a Commonwealth Union exclusive interview.
Disinformation, according to the Sri Lankan government, is the purposeful fabrication and dissemination of incorrect and/or altered information with the intent to mislead and cause harm, as well as for financial, political, or personal advantage. False information inadvertently spreading is known as misinformation.
“False and misleading information is not new. However, the advent of social media and new technology has made it simpler, faster, and less expensive than ever for hostile actors, both domestic and foreign, to disseminate false information to large audiences and particular target groups. To monitor any fake news that may be spreading around the entire country, we have monitors envisaged duties to trace fake news. But first we will maintain contact with the mainstream media concerned to remedy the situation”. He went on to say that we have to make sure the public is receiving accurate and truthful information on anything that might have an impact on the entire nation.
Counter-Disinformation Unit (CDU)
The President Media division in Sri Lanka introduced a new unit called the “Counter Disinformation Unit” in conjunction with the International Day for Universal Access to Information, which is observed on September 28. In order to combat misinformation and promptly address public issues, the President Media Division recently unveiled a brand-new webpage called “Response” (Prathichara).
Under the direction of President’s Secretary Mr. Saman Ekanayake, this initiative was started at the President’s Office in Colombo. The Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) was established within the President’s Media division so that all media in the country can easily approach and work with. The CDU team collaborates with various government agencies, including ministerial secretaries, divisional secretariats, village headmen (Grama Sevaka), civil society, and government or private employees to mitigate the harm from the false news spread by any aversive person or group.
In order to make sure that the government is aware of the extent and impact of damaging misinformation and can respond to the incident appropriately, it aims to comprehend disinformation narratives as well as artificial attempts to control the information.
According to Ramanayaka, further measures that can be taken to counter such claims include putting up a response on social media, launching awareness-raising campaigns to highlight the truth, and collaborating with media companies to push them to support reliable sources of information and regularly uphold their media culture.
He went on, “We have established a website named Prathichara to address people’s problems through fact-checking.” This will be in charge of how the government responds to false and misleading information. It declares that it does not gather information that is not publicly available and only analyzes information that is.
“The primary objective of the CDU is not to search for harmful content to report to social media networks. Our major focus will be on the mainstream media due to its high degree of news reliability. As he said, news trustworthiness is vital when backed by all available evidence, thus they will be asked to promote credible information sources.
Nonetheless, the unit will arrange for the information to be forwarded to the relevant platform for review and urge that they take the necessary action when needed. The media platform is free to choose whether or not to take any action in response to the news that is disseminated in their print or electronic medium; neither the government nor the CDU have the authority to dictate any course of action. We shall keep an eye on them and forward any information that clearly endangers society, public health, safety, or national security to the media organization, provided the news is authentic.
According to Ramanayaka, “the Counter Disinformation Unit keeps an eye on narratives, trends, and attempts to manipulate the online information environment artificially.” “It does not monitor specific individuals; however, names and social media handles embedded in content published on publicly accessible websites may inadvertently be included in the content reviewed.”
Does CDU undermine the right of free speech?
Maintaining the right to free expression is a critical aspect of the CDU’s mission. The CDU does not forward any information from journalists, politicians, or political parties to social media businesses, nor does it monitor political discourse.
The Online Safety Bill which is still not being practiced due to non-appointment of commission members, huge public protests, would establish legal safeguards to guarantee that platforms uphold their terms and conditions and are unable to delete content at their will. “We promise never to coerce or compel anyone to do anything what the government would be favorable”. “We primarily ask them to be more sincere and obtain confirmation from all concerned of the news before publishing “, he emphasized.
