Fake news, disinformation being employed to de-legitimize freedom struggles: Munir

F.P. Report

NEW YORK : At the United Nations, Pakistan says that fake news and disinformation are being employed to de-legitimize the freedom struggles.

This was stated by Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, Ambassador Munir Akram while taking part in the general debate of the 46th Session of the Committee on Information at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan Ambassador Usman Jadoon chaired the session.

Ambassador Munir Akram said we are witnessing this today in the Gaza war and have witnessed this consistently in the case of occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

He said at the core of information manipulation, internet blackouts, censorship and the use of special media laws by the occupation authorities is a sinister design to de-legitimize freedom struggles and perpetuate a climate of fear, intimidation and violence.

Ambassador Munir Akram noted what he termed as a worrisome trend of the use of digital media platforms to target minority communities.

Terming this as tantamount to weaponizing information against the minorities, he said such practices gravely undercut political freedoms and human rights of the targeted population.

The Pakistan Permanent Representative to the United Nations urged the member countries of the Committee on Information to make concerted efforts to combat Islamophobia and other forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, negative stereotyping and stigmatization in the information space.

He also stressed the need for promoting the message of tolerance, peaceful co-existence and interfaith and inter-cultural harmony among all peoples. 

Addressing the challenges posed by disinformation, Ambassador Munir Akram highlighted the urgent need for a multilateral Code of Conduct to safeguard information integrity on digital platforms.

He stressed the importance of establishing international guidelines to safeguard women’s rights in digital spaces and combat gender-based discrimination and online harassment.