The Nobel Prize Takes Aim Against Disinformation, Lies And Fakes

In the most extraordinary instance of public thought leadership most of us have ever witnessed, this week the Nobel Prize (Nobel Foundation) joined forces with the US National Academy of Sciences to mount a 3-day Summit targeting the disinformation, lies, fakes, and deep fakes that are flooding the globe.

High Stakes

The stakes could not be higher. From one-on-one ad hominem attacks, to the state-sponsored reputation destruction of political enemies, to the wholesale targeting of scientific findings, research and inquiry, disinformation campaigns are challenging our principles, truths — and souls. And, of course, social media and AI-enabled mimicry exacerbate the problem, putting our cognition more and more at risk. At their worst, they challenge our very understanding of reality, as well as our ability to trust anyone or anything.

No Trust

Once there is no certainty to be found on the shifting sands of lies, trust dies a hard and ugly death.

So, who better to lead the charge than The Nobel Foundation and the National Academy of Sciences? In this three-day tour-de-force, titled “Truth, Trust and Hope,” they convened Nobel Prize laureates, notable experts, poets, artists, musicians, and even magicians to call out the problems caused by purposeful disinformation and truth destruction.

We can all be fooled, they cautioned. We can all become victim to disinformation or false memory campaigns. And all people — even the best of people — can be made to believe the lies. It’s called the “Misinformation Effect,” says Professor Elizabeth Loftus, and we are all subject to it. And yes, we can all be canceled and we can all be made to cancel through the malicious manipulation of the truth by bad actors.

But once the audience was cautioned, this multidisciplinary group began to explore solutions — macro and micro — to redraw the battle lines, and change the outcome.

The International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE)

One solution, whose seeds were planted at the last Summit, is the establishment of the International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE), by Sheldon Himelfarb, President & CEO of PeaceTech Lab, and Director of Oxford University’s Programme on Democracy and Technology, Phil Howard. An independent global organization, IPIE is the response of 200 research scientists (so far) from 55 countries around the world and across disciplines to ensure an information environment that promotes human progress and peace.

Early insights include the 2 most effective ways to counter disinformation found so far: flagging incorrect content, and providing corrections to that misinformation, at the exact moment it is first seen. In fact, AI-fueled efforts will almost certainly be effective in countering the disinformation that other uses of AI create. Fascinating, a battle of titans, and truly not a battle for the faint of heart.

Courage

Closing speaker 2021 Nobel Peace Laureate, author of the book “How to Stand Up to a Dictator,” and “fearless defender of freedom of expression,” Maria Ressa, topped off the first day with a rafter-rousing speech calling for the most important solutions: courage and inspiration. In her own words:

• “Disinformation is when power and money use the existing information ecosystem to insidiously manipulate the cellular level of our democracy, which is each of us...”

• “The only weapon a journalist has to fight back is to shine the light.”

• But, “the tech has gone exponential, exponential, and we’re still moving at glacial speed.”

• “What will you sacrifice for the truth?”

• “How will we move you to act? It’s about your courage; this is what I stand for. because silence is complicity.”

• “Lies are spreading 6x faster than facts — Lies that are laced with anger and hate, fueling the worst of humanity.” “Make no mistake, this is warfare...behavior modification.... attacks make you disbelieve. Without facts, no truth; without truth, no trust...no shared reality, no democracy... We cannot know what we will become when we are being pumped through with toxic sludge. We cannot believe in the goodness of human nature.”

• “Last year 60% of the world was under authoritarian rule...this year 72%. Trade sanctions won’t work... our window is closing.”

• “On-line violence is real-world violence.” “In my own case, 60% of the attacks were meant to tear down my credibility; 40% were meant to tear down my spirit.”

• But, “inspiration is the antidote” to disinformation and anger.

• “2024 is a tipping point between fascism and democracy.”

And between courage and inspiration and...desolation.

Thank you, National Academy of Sciences, and Nobel Foundation for joining the fight. These institutions have just shone a tremendous light on disinformation, lies and fakes. Now, it is up to us to join them.

To hear the entire Day 1 Program, just click the link below. More to come in the near future on the fight against disinformation, against calculated reputation destruction, and against the attack on essential trust that disinformation breeds.