Recommendation 42

There is an apparent lack of public awareness about disinformation campaigns from foreign malign actors. By exposing the broader public to the threat of malicious content the Government can inoculate the target audience from the threat of disinformation. Public awareness campaigns are an easily accessible method for the government to spread reliable information across multiple channels and are under-utilised by the Government at present. It was suggested that publicising disinformation campaigns might do the malign actors’ jobs for them and undermine confidence in essential democratic institutions and processes. If these campaigns posed no danger to our democracy and it can be said with complete confidence that these campaigns have no effect on public opinion, then we would have some sympathy with this approach. However, our experience tells us that we cannot afford to be complacent. To defeat this hybrid warfare we must enlist the public and empower them with the necessary tools to identify disinformation and make their own informed decisions. (Conclusion, Paragraph 187)