The long-awaited report by the Future of Media Commission has highlighted the work of EDMO Ireland and called for the development of a national strategy to counter disinformation.
Established by Government in September 2020, the Future of Media Commission was tasked with developing recommendations on sustainable public funding and other supports to ensure media in Ireland remains viable, independent and capable of delivering public service aims. The Commission was also asked to make specific recommendations in relation to RTÉ’s financing.
The Commission’s report, which was published on 12 July 2022, contains a total of 50 recommendations, which in effect constitute a strategic agenda for transforming Ireland’s media sector.
Regarding disinformation, the Commission recommends the development of a National Counter Disinformation Strategy
to enhance the trust and protect the safety of Irish users of global content platforms. The Strategy should:
- Coordinate national efforts to counter organised coordinated campaigns of manipulation of Irish internet users and ensure transparency about content moderation policies that impact Irish citizens;
- Develop effective long-term monitoring of the application of the EU Code of Practice on Disinformation and the Digital Services Act in Ireland;
- Be developed in consultation with all relevant Departments and agencies, the Irish EDMO Hub, industry stakeholders, news organisations, civil society groups and Irish fact-checkers and disinformation researchers. The Strategy should also incorporate a role for Irish citizens, potentially seeking oversight of decisions impacting Irish users of content platforms, or complaints filed by them;
- Examine other examples of other international best practice;
- Build relationships between platforms and academic researchers that facilitate access to data that would inform better interventions to prevent the spread of disinformation;
- Identify measures to support innovation in fact-checking and disinformation research and provide support for innovation in areas critical to compliance with the new regulatory environment created by the Digital Services Act;
- Review existing media literacy initiatives in Ireland, including an examination of potential for a more joined-up approach between relevant government departments and agencies on the development of media literacy initiatives. Pilot programmes for media literacy emerging from this review should be eligible for direct support under the Media Fund;
- Acknowledge the important role that free, independent, high quality journalism plays in countering disinformation, and align with efforts to protect the supply of public interest information at local and national level.
