The UN will today publish its first report on the Global Principles for Information Integrity, an instrument that seeks to combat disinformation, hate speech or risks posed by artificial intelligence.

The initiative, to be launched by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, recognises the revolution brought about by technological advances in communications, which connect people on a scale previously unthinkable.

In this context, the draft outlines five key elements for protecting information in the digital age: trust and social resilience; healthy incentives; public empowerment; independent, free and pluralistic media; and transparency and research.

In this way the agency seeks to balance the risks of new technologies by recognising the benefits they bring to communities in times of crisis, marginalised voices, and global movements for racial justice and gender equality.

At the same time, the spread of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech threaten the environment at unprecedented volume, speed and virality.

These technology-driven challenges put the integrity of the information ecosystem at risk, calling for the strengthening of information integrity as one of the urgent tasks of our time.

In Guterres’ view, the global principles seek to consolidate the right of all people to express themselves freely without fear of attack and to access a variety of viewpoints and sources of information.