Fact checking and independent structures crucial to tackle fake news - Zammit Dimech

“Fake news can destabilise our democracy. Our fight and our precautions against fake news need to be stepped up because our very democracy depends on people making informed decisions. When decisions are badly informed, then obviously the whole fabric of our decisions and our decision-making is under attack, and the more so when that originates potentially even from outside of our own countries.” MEP Francis Zammit Dimech made these remarks at the European Parliament during an exchange of views with the European Commission on fake news.

Zammit Dimech said that independent structures are needed in Member States to safeguard citizens from fake news. He added, “The last thing we need for our democracy is to have structures dependent on the executive power, where governments decide what is true and what is not true. Governments are not exactly innocent sometimes, including when it comes to spreading their dose of fake news themselves.”

Referring to practices in the United States, Zammit Dimech spoke about the importance of real independent fact checkers which are available. During his address in the Committee responsible for Media, Zammit Dimech also referred to Evan Davis’s book “Post-Truth”. He said that the discussion of fake news needs to be also linked with the misuse of personal data. “We all suffer from bias, and therefore if there are people checking our social media profiles, knowing possibly what biases we suffer from, the kind of situation that we had with Cambridge Analytica, then fake news is being disseminated not only in the mass media, or on a mass approach basis, but even on a micro targeting basis. Then the situation is even more serious.”

Earlier on this month, Zammit Dimech held meetings with Facebook to discuss the need for social media giants to strengthen their proactive measures to counteract fake news, after Maltese personalities were used without their consent to disseminate fake news through sponsored adverts encouraging Maltese and Gozitan Facebook users to visit websites and articles with scams. The adverts took weeks to be removed. “I’ve had an occasion to recently have meetings with Google and Facebook, and raised the self-regulatory approach, but my impression is that it is still taking far too long, even when it happens. We need far faster measures to deal with the situation,” he concluded.

In his reply Roberto Viola, Director General of DG CONNECT (Directorate General of Communication, Networks, Content and Technology) at the European Commission, said that irresponsibility cannot be a business model. He also spoke about the need to apply rules that the Parliament had adopted, including the updated Audio-Visual Media Services Directive and the new Regulation on fairness and transparency of platforms to business relations, for which Zammit Dimech served as the Rapporteur in the Committee on Legal Affairs. On quality, independent, fact-checkers, Viola said that the Commission is not sponsoring directly fact checkers but is giving them an environment where they can work together and exchange information. Moreover, they have been given access to the Parliament and Commission database. On quality journalism, Viola said that the Commission was implementing actions suggested by the Parliament. He referred to the new Creative Europe Programme, which is investing €80 million in quality journalism and media.

Zammit Dimech, who lectures in European Media Law, is a member of the Committee on Culture and Education which is responsible for Media. He has served as the EPP Group Rapporteur on the Media Freedom and Pluralism report across the EU, and the legislative dossier on the protection of whistleblowers. Zammit Dimech has also tabled amendments to strengthen a regulation tackling the dissemination of terrorist content online.

You can watch the clip of the exchange of views between MEP Francis Zammit Dimech and Director General of DG CONNECT Roberto Viola here.