Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 43
43
Accepted in Part
The government should launch a public awareness campaign to educate citizens about the risk of...
Recommendation
The government should launch a public awareness campaign to educate citizens about the risk of foreign information manipulation and interference. This should include the measures taken and mechanisms in place to protect 91 democratic institutions. Additionally, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office should launch a publicly accessible information portal to document the scale and aims of disinformation campaigns, similar to the European External Action Services’ highly-effective EUvsDisinfo resource. (Recommendation, Paragraph 188)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government partially agrees, stating it will continue to highlight the threat and is already pursuing media literacy initiatives like the 'You Won't Know Until You Ask' campaign, which it is considering extending or adapting. It does not commit to launching a new dedicated information portal as recommended.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted in Part
76. We agree that increasing public understanding and awareness of the nature of the threats plays an important role in building societal understanding of and resilience to the threat of FIMI, including disinformation. We will continue to highlight the nature of the threat, including through the publication of information on the gov.uk website about UK action to counter FIMI. To date, FCDO has published on gov.uk its action to counter FIMI including exposing the threat from Russia, Russian attempts to subvert democratic processes in Moldova, and the activity, and sanctioning, of several individuals and entities conducting FIMI in the UK and Europe. Alongside awareness raising on the risks of foreign information manipulation and interference we are pursuing media literacy initiatives as these are also critical to building societal resilience to mis- and disinformation. The government’s ‘You Won’t Know Until You Ask’ campaign promotes the core media literacy skills and behaviours which are effective regardless of whether content is foreign-backed or domestically generated. We are considering options to extend or adapt the campaign, including whether it could address FIMI.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗