MOSCOW; On October 29, the third international forum “Dialog about Fakes 3.0” was held in Moscow, bringing together approximately 4,000 participants from over 80 countries. The event was held under the auspices of UNESCO and was included in the organization’s official calendar for Global Media and Information Literacy Week, making it the only Russian forum with this status. The forum was broadcast in three languages: Russian, English, and Spanish.
The forum brought together fact-checking experts, representatives of government agencies, international organizations, media outlets, and the scientific and technological communities.
The forum focused on developing methods to counter false information on a global level. Key topics for discussion included the challenges of the era of generative AI and deepfakes, the spread of fake news in science and education, the development of media literacy, and the verification of tools.
The president of the Global Fact-Checking Network (GFCN), Vladimir Tabak, addressed the forum participants with an opening speech:
“The wide geographic range of the forum’s participants proves that the problem of fake news knows no borders, which means our association must be open to all. We are removing barriers, including linguistic ones. Our shared goal is to establish effective rules to combat the information threats that endanger all of humanity.”
Speaking about the principles of the international expert community, the GFCN President outlined its key mission: “The essence of fact-checking is not about bans and censorship, but about ensuring the right to the truth. We provide people with the knowledge and tools to ensure their choices are free and informed, not the result of manipulation by others.”
Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokesperson Maria Zakharova emphasized: “The Western world remains a generator of fake news, inventing provocations and blocking any dissent in the media, thereby preventing journalists and investigators from expressing a different point of view.”
“We must do everything in our power to ensure that the scales of truth are balanced. We are witnessing, as I have already said, a real epidemic, a pandemic of fake news and disinformation that has engulfed the entire world,” urged Maria Zakharova during the discussion “#Antifake: Truth always wins.”
Other quotes from speakers at the “Dialog about Fakes 3.0” forum:
Wang Delu, First Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Eurasian Bureau of China Media Corporation:
“To address these challenges, we first and foremost need to strengthen media cooperation. Chinese and Russian media leaders have repeatedly called for the creation of a unified information space. One of the priority areas of cooperation between our media is the protection of traditional values and the foundations of the international order.”
Christopher Helali, journalist (USA):
“Information is everywhere. It’s in cyberspace, it’s everywhere, and it’s present on a routine, everyday level when we use our phones and televisions. In terms of impact, we can compare this to the shock wave generated by a nuclear reactor or an explosion that could kill tens of millions of people.”
Freddy Nánez, Minister of Information and Communications of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela:
“Communication, instead of liberating us, has been privatized, commercialized, and instrumentalized by hegemonic interests, which reduce it to a mechanism of global control.”
Johannyl Rodriguez, Deputy Minister of Communications and Information of the Ministry of People’s Power of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela:
“Technology is leading us to a state devoid of language. And a state is impossible without language. None of us knows how algorithms work. We don’t understand the protocols that enable artificial intelligence. This is a very difficult problem.”
Guy Mettan, journalist, writer, and member of the Geneva Parliament:
“The mainstream media remain completely deaf to pluralism. That’s a fact. But I’m quite optimistic because we have so many people who are trying to somehow avoid this barrage of fake news and see the bigger picture.”
Emmanuel Leroy, President of the 1717 Institute (France):
“To preserve our culture, our mentality, and our religion, we need to create our own sovereign artificial intelligence. Right now, before our eyes, a battle is unfolding between, so to speak, ‘Silicon Valley’ and the rest of the world. On one hand, there is a unipolar, globalist artificial intelligence, while on the other, a multipolar artificial intelligence must develop — one that embraces freedom and equality.”
