Freedom of expression is instrumental to peace in any society, says Guy Berger, Director, Policies and Strategies for Communication and Information, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Berger spoke Wednesday at a breakout session of the World Press Freedom Day Global Conference titled: ‘Freedom of Expression During Conflicts – Curbing of War-Related Disinformation vs Access to Information on Internet Platforms’.
The conference, organised by UNESCO and the Republic of Uruguay, held in a hybrid format under the theme: ‘Journalism under Digital Siege’, and explored the digital era’s impact on freedom of expression.
According to Berger, if people are enabled to have pluralistic and reliable information, the presence of peace will be unavoidable.
He said that when UNESCO was set up, it promoted in its constitution, free flow of information, adding that freedom of expression was a serious human right.
Berger said public opinion and a free media had the ability to end conflicts, citing the example of the Vietnam war.
“We need to be very careful because disinformation and propaganda for war are not exactly the same thing.
“Accountability and transparency don’t go away just because there’s a conflict,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of fact checking in situations of conflict and noted that truth is always the first casualty of war.
Cristian Vaccari, Professor of Political Communication, Loughborough University and Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Press/Politics, said the world was facing an unprecedented situation with the war in Ukraine. (NAN)
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