An editor wearing a face mask works in the control room at C5N news TV channel on April 17, 2020 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
An editor wearing a face mask works in the control room at C5N news TV channel on April 17, 2020 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. © Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images

Focus

The Infodemic

Years active: 2020-present

Disinformation, fake news and propaganda are emerging as among the most powerful threats of the modern age. Facilitated by new forms of media and spread by governments and non-state actors alike, these potent tools have far-reaching consequences for human rights and media freedoms around the world.

IWPR’s global networks of reporters, activists and rights defenders are working to document, expose and build resilience to this growing danger.

Latest on the infodemic

A Lebanese girl lights a candle during an event honouring Issam Abdallah, Lebanese photojournalist killed by a missile strike of the IDF on October 13 while working in southern Lebanon, on October 22, 2023 in Beirut, Lebanon. Journalists and other civilians have been killed or wounded as Lebanon's southern frontier with Israel sees its most active fighting in years, with the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group trading cross-border fire with Israel over the last two weeks. Regional tensions have flared fo
A Lebanese girl lights a candle during an event honouring Issam Abdallah, Lebanese photojournalist killed by a missile strike of the IDF on October 13 while working in southern Lebanon, on October 22, 2023 in Beirut, Lebanon. Journalists and other civilians have been killed or wounded as Lebanon's southern frontier with Israel sees its most active fighting in years, with the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group trading cross-border fire with Israel over the last two weeks. Regional tensions have flared following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in southern Israel, prompting that country to launch a siege of the Gaza Strip. © Manu Brabo/Getty Images
The Israel-Hamas Conflict / First Person

Fake News Fuels Fear in Lebanon

A confusing media landscape leaves citizens desperately searching for credible information.

An AFPTV cameraman films while smoke plumes billow during Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on October 12, 2023 as raging battles between Israel and the Hamas movement continue for the sixth consecutive day. Thousands of people, both Israeli and Palestinians have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip, entered southern Israel in a surprise attack leading Israel to declare war on Hamas in Gaza on October 8.
An AFPTV cameraman films while smoke plumes billow during Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on October 12, 2023 as raging battles between Israel and the Hamas movement continue for the sixth consecutive day. Thousands of people, both Israeli and Palestinians have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip, entered southern Israel in a surprise attack leading Israel to declare war on Hamas in Gaza on October 8. © Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
The Israel-Hamas Conflict

Interview: The War on Disinformation

Open source intelligence (OSINT) can provide facts – but impatient, angry audiences often prefer opinions.

Palestinians injured in Israeli air raids arrive at Nasser Medical Hospital on October 24, 2023 in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Gaza. Two weeks after a deadly Hamas attack in southern Israel that sparked a retaliatory siege of Gaza, in which thousands have died and hundreds of thousands have been displaced.
Palestinians injured in Israeli air raids arrive at Nasser Medical Hospital on October 24, 2023 in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Gaza. Two weeks after a deadly Hamas attack in southern Israel that sparked a retaliatory siege of Gaza, in which thousands have died and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. © Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
The Israel-Hamas Conflict / Comment

When the News Becomes a Nightmare

The task of journalism is not to have the answers, but rather to be an honest witness.

Moldova’s President Maia Sandu during the briefing following the government’s resignation on on 10 February, 2023. Prime Minister Nataliia Gavrilita and her government resigned after a 18 months in power marked by economic turmoil, including inflation and energy security issues, exacerbated by Russian disinformation activity and the war in Ukraine.
Moldova’s President Maia Sandu during the briefing following the government’s resignation on on 10 February, 2023. Prime Minister Nataliia Gavrilita and her government resigned after a 18 months in power marked by economic turmoil, including inflation and energy security issues, exacerbated by Russian disinformation activity and the war in Ukraine. © Office of the President of Moldova

Moldova’s New Government Expects Fresh Pressure From Moscow

Chisinau puts focus on security amid ongoing attempts at destabilisation.

Sai Aung Main/AFP via Getty Images
DIRECTOR'S NOTE

2021: The New Global Concern

Against the loss of life and economic devastation suffered in the pandemic, the world can at least take hope from science and the emerging vaccines. Yet another “new normal” has emerged with long-term consequences potentially even more dangerous – disinformation.
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