“We need to collaborate” – broadcasters feel the pressure in the battle against disinformation

Ross Dagen of CBS News, Raymondo Barros from GLOBO, and Laura Ellis from the BBC presented the experiences of their organisations in this area. These three organisations were part of a larger group involved in the IBC Accelerator Programme, Design Your Weapons in the Fight Against Disinformation.

The session began with an astonishing statistic: by the end of the year, nearly half the world’s population will have participated in elections. With this unprecedented global political activity comes an increased risk of disinformation, a threat to both democratic processes and public trust. The panellists emphasised how disinformation is evolving with new technologies, especially AI-generated content, which poses significant challenges to detecting and verifying authentic information.

Initiatives

Each panellist highlighted their organisation’s efforts in addressing disinformation:

• Dagen discussed the CBS News Confirmed initiative, which is aimed at ensuring accuracy in news content. This program combines forensic journalism with technology, although Dagen admitted that current technological tools are not yet foolproof.

Read more IBC Conference: Beating fake news - inspiring trust in the age of disinformation

• Barros spoke about Globo’s fact-checking efforts, which have reviewed over 4,000 stories since 2018. He emphasised the need for collaboration, stating: “Technology is helping us go through the provenance and detection, but we are lagging behind, so we need to collaborate.”

• Ellis highlighted the BBC Verify initiative, and noted that, “for the people that want to create disinformation at scale, this is an industrial revolution,” reflecting the growing ease with which false content can be produced. She spoke about the role of AI in tracking and detecting false information, stressing that transparency and public education are key to tackling disinformation. She also emphasised the importance of open standards such as C2PA, stressing that competition in this area will benefit no one.

Collaboration and technology

A recurring theme was the need for collaboration across the media industry and with technology vendors. The accelerator program was highlighted as an example of successful cross-industry cooperation in this area. This program brings together media organisations, technology companies, and vendors to develop tools and frameworks to detect disinformation and verify content provenance.

Challenges with AI and synthetic media

One of the most pressing issues discussed was the rapid development of AI-generated content, including deepfakes, which are increasingly difficult to detect. Ellis emphasised the need for tools that can track and signal synthetic media use, as well as initiatives like Project Origin that aim to build transparency into media content.

Regulatory and ethical considerations

The panellists also debated the role of regulation in combating disinformation. They pointed out that while news organisations are heavily regulated, social media platforms are often free from the same level of scrutiny. Dagen stressed the need for fairness in regulation, stating: “We think everyone should be treated the same.” The panellists agreed that social media platforms should take greater responsibility.

Future of combatting disinformation

Looking ahead, the panellists stressed that technology alone cannot solve the problem of disinformation. Skilled journalists remain essential in verifying and interpreting news content, even as AI and other tools improve. The session concluded with a call for continued innovation and cooperation to address the growing threats of disinformation.

Read more Combating disinformation in News: A critical year for democracies