Should churches and NGOs be active on social media platforms or leave them entirely due to ethical and rights concerns? Should civil society be doing more to hold social media platforms accountable?Three prominent voices offered differing perspectives on the role of social media for civil...
We expected 2025 to be a challenging year for human rights defenders, if only from the global political turmoil U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump is promising. For many, though, Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement on 7 January that Meta would replace fact checkers on Facebook and Instagram with the...
Faith communities can use practical tools, strategies, and global advocacy to counter — and prevent — the spread of false information, the webinar “Religion and Disinformation: How to be a trusted source” yesterday illustrated with case studies and approaches from the Africa region.Organized by WACC...
A webinar on 3 December organised by WACC and the World Council of Churches (WCC) aims to help faith communities and individuals be more effective in preventing and mitigating the spread of misinformation and disinformation. The event "Religion and Disinformation: How to be a trusted source”...
In 2001, Jack G. Shaheen published Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. In an analysis of over 900 films with Arab and Muslim characters from 1896 to 2000, he showed how moviemakers represented Arabs as heartless, uncivilized, religious fanatics akin to the worst...
In 2016, widespread misinformation fueled hate-filled public debate in the United Kingdon and was a major contributor to the outcome of the Brexit referendum. Since then, the country’s decision to leave the European Union has had very negative economic consequences, resulting in lower productivity, less...
Videos of Elon Musk promoting dubious investments. Popular news anchors advertising all manner of products. Seemingly plausible news articles bearing bylines of known journalists.Welcome to the world of AI-enabled misinformation and disinformation that has rapidly spiraled into the new normal.Over 11,000 business leaders in 113...
In Britain over 20 years ago a large group of local postmasters were prosecuted for fraud. Many were convicted, some jailed, most lost jobs and incomes. Why? Because the Horizon computer system, used to manage their financial accounts was thought incapable of error. Only later,...
A recent webinar co-organized by WACC and the World Council of Churches on the churches’ role in misinformation and disinformation highlighted the dilemmas all of us face to effectively challenge lies online, whether deliberately created or inadvertently shared. Fact-checking has become one of the essential fronts...
The need to prioritize education and build community was highlighted during a webinar on 5 December that explored how churches have been involved in disinformation or misinformation, and what they can do to prevent this in the future. Hosted by WACC and the World Council of...