Global Disinformation Index

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Global Disinformation Index (GDI) is a not-for-profit organisation based in the United Kingdom[1][2] which aims to mitigate the spread of disinformation on the internet.[3][4][5] The group utilises a system of ratings of news sources and websites to determine risk of disinformation.[6] The group's efforts also include investigations into internet advertising,[7] and the alleged use of disinformation in relation to COVID-19 featured on various websites.[4] The group has faced scrutiny over potential political bias,[8][9][10][11][12] and has been categorised as a political left think tank by the group AllSides.[13][14]

Overview[edit]

GDI was founded in 2018[15] by Clare Melford and Daniel Rogers,[16][17] and has received funding through a combination of charitable trusts, governmental organizations, and ad tech licensees of its dynamic exclusion list. Contributors include the Knight Foundation,[18][15][19] Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO),[20] and Luminate Group.[21]

A strategy promoted by GDI is the aim to remove financial incentives for news content that promotes adversarial narratives.[15][22] GDI's investigation of COVID-19 disinformation focussed on the generation of illicit revenue for websites.[23]

GDI has reported that a recent evaluation of Italian online news sites resulted in categorising one third of the evaluated sites as high risk of disinformation.[24]

Reception[edit]

In April 2024, UnHerd CEO Freddie Sayers criticized GDI after it placed UnHerd on its "dynamic exclusion list", leading to a reduction in UnHerd's advertising revenue. Sayers argued that GDI's determination was based on ideological disagreements rather than factual inaccuracies.[11][25] In response, Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, called for GDI to be shut down.[26]

Following UnHerd's article, UK Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch joined around 10 MPs in raising concerns about GDI and their approach to distinguishing between free speech and disinformation.[27] In response to Badenoch's concerns, Foreign Secretary David Cameron stated that FCDO had ceased funding GDI in 2023 and did not plan to resume funding.[28][25]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bakir, V., & McStay, A. (2023). Defending the Civic Body from False Information Online. In Optimising Emotions, Incubating Falsehoods: How to Protect the Global Civic Body from Disinformation and Misinformation (pp. 205-246). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
  2. ^ Privacy. GDI. Accessed 26 April 2024.
  3. ^ Salehi, H., & Kardouni, N. (2023). Fake News and Disinformation in the Perspective of International Peace and Security. Journal of Legal Studies, 15(2), 321-353.
  4. ^ a b Zendelovski, G., & Cvetkovski, S. (2021). The Pandemic of Fake News and Disinformation in the Age of Deglobalization. Security Dialogues.
  5. ^ Pratelli, M., & Petrocchi, M. (2022). A Structured Analysis of Journalistic Evaluations for News Source Reliability. arXiv preprint arXiv:2205.02736.
  6. ^ Glazunova, S., Dehghan, E., FitzGerald, K. M., Wikstrom, P., & Myint, Z. (2021). Disinformation Risk Assessment: The online news market in Australia.
  7. ^ Aaronson, S. (2021). Can Trade Agreements Solve the Wicked Problem of Disinformation (No. 2021-12).
  8. ^ Myers, Steven Lee (December 14, 2023). "State Dept.'s Fight Against Disinformation Comes Under Attack". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  9. ^ Farber, Alex (April 22, 2024). "Foreign Office link to 'biased' report on unreliable news sites" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  10. ^ "Hugh Linehan: Who watches the watchers when it comes to disinformation?". The Irish Times.
  11. ^ a b Sayers, Freddie (17 April 2024). "Inside the disinformation industry". UnHerd.
  12. ^ "Der "Global Disinformation Index" bekämpft auch missliebige Meinungen" (in German). 19 April 2024.
  13. ^ Global Disinformation Index AllSides. Accessed 26 April 2024.
  14. ^ Brechter, H. A. (2023). Misinformation Watch: 'Disinformation Risk Assessment' Lacks Transparency, Shows Bias Against the Right. AllSides. 20 Feb 2023. Accessed 26 April 2024.
  15. ^ a b c Disinformation index www.rand.org. Accessed 26 April 2024.
  16. ^ Alexandra Mousavizadeh is listed as a founder by Rand Corp.
  17. ^ About. GDI. Accessed 26 April 2024.
  18. ^ Ignatidou, S. (2019). EU–US cooperation on tackling disinformation. International Security Department. September.
  19. ^ "Knight Research Network". Knight Foundation.
  20. ^ "Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament".
  21. ^ "Global Disinformation Index". www.luminategroup.com.
  22. ^ "FKN0058 - Evidence on Disinformation and 'fake news'".
  23. ^ Verrall, N. (2022). COVID-19 Disinformation, misinformation and malinformation during the pandemic infodemic: a view from the United Kingdom. In COVID-19 disinformation: a multi-national, whole of society perspective (pp. 81-112). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
  24. ^ Lesser, M., Stern, H. J., & Terp, S. J. (2022). Countering Russian Misinformation, Disinformation, Malinformation and Influence Campaigns in Italy Surrounding the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. In IFDaD.
  25. ^ a b Farber, Alex (10 May 2024). "Cameron says government has stopped funding disinformation index". The Times.
  26. ^ Earle, A (2024). "Elon Musk: Global Disinformation Index should be shut down." UnHerd. April 19 2024. Accessed May 10 2024.
  27. ^ Farber, Alex (19 April 2024). "MPs oppose funding disinformation ratings agency in blacklisting row". The Times.
  28. ^ Earle, A (2024). "David Cameron: Government will no longer fund Global Disinformation Index." UnHerd. May 9 2024. Accessed May 10 2024.
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