Seoul (Republic of Korea), 17-18 May 2023 - The Center for Asian Leadership held its annual Asian Leadership Conference focusing on the theme “The Era Of Upheaval: The road To Collaboration And Innovation”. On this occasion, PAM was represented by Amb. Jean-Paul Laborde, PAM Roving Ambassador on counter-terrorism and organized crime.
The conference gathered over 350 world-leading speakers and 4,000 attendees from across the globe, including several MPs and academics.
Amb. Laborde intervened during a session dedicated to “Integrity and Authenticity: How Do We Counter Misinformation and Disinformation?”. In his intervention, he expressed concerns about the phenomenon of misinformation, disinformation, fake news or deep fakes, which represent real risks for citizens and governments alike. Amb. Laborde recalled the power of misinformation, which can be used as a tool to promote extreme political viewpoints and severely impact the geopolitical landscape. He cited as an example today’s rhetoric used by the Russian Federation accusing and demonising Western countries for being at the origin of the invasion of Ukraine.
The fight against misinformation is a priority of PAM, particularly at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, a period of global anxiety, which led to an unprecedented increase in fake news and misinformation. To counter misinformation, at that time, PAM shared with its member parliaments real-time expert briefings from WHO and from its academic panel, in order to ensure the dissemination of verified information. Furthermore, in a digitalized world, where anyone can produce a piece of information, even an artificial intelligence program, PAM is seeking ways to effectively share with its MPs best legislative practices, and has appointed a special Rapporteur on Artificial Intelligence, Hon. Abdelouahab Yagoubi (Algeria) to that aim.
PAM is fully committed to work with civil society as a whole, and with youth in particular, who can be extremely useful in interfacing with legislators on new digital territories, with the challenge to find a balance between fighting disinformation and protecting freedom of expression.//