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 2024, Elon Musk called for GDI to be shut down.[25] Also in 2024, UK Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch raised concerns about GDI and their approach to distinguishing between free speech and disinformation. In response, Foreign Secretary David Cameron reported that FCDO had ceased funding GDI in 2023 and did not plan to resume funding.[26]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ 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.
- ^ Privacy. GDI. Accessed 26 April 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Zendelovski, G., & Cvetkovski, S. (2021). The Pandemic of Fake News and Disinformation in the Age of Deglobalization. Security Dialogues.
- ^ Pratelli, M., & Petrocchi, M. (2022). A Structured Analysis of Journalistic Evaluations for News Source Reliability. arXiv preprint arXiv:2205.02736.
- ^ Glazunova, S., Dehghan, E., FitzGerald, K. M., Wikstrom, P., & Myint, Z. (2021). Disinformation Risk Assessment: The online news market in Australia.
- ^ Aaronson, S. (2021). Can Trade Agreements Solve the Wicked Problem of Disinformation (No. 2021-12).
- ^ Myers, Steven Lee (December 14, 2023). "State Dept.'s Fight Against Disinformation Comes Under Attack". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Farber, Alex (April 22, 2024). "Foreign Office link to 'biased' report on unreliable news sites" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ^ "Hugh Linehan: Who watches the watchers when it comes to disinformation?". The Irish Times.
- ^ Sayers, F. (2024) Inside the disinformation industry A government-sponsored agency is censoring journalism. UnHerd. 17 April 2024. Accessed 26 April 2024.
- ^ "Der "Global Disinformation Index" bekämpft auch missliebige Meinungen" (in German). 19 April 2024.
- ^ Global Disinformation Index AllSides. Accessed 26 April 2024.
- ^ Brechter, H. A. (2023). Misinformation Watch: 'Disinformation Risk Assessment' Lacks Transparency, Shows Bias Against the Right. AllSides. 20 Feb 2023. Accessed 26 April 2024.
- ^ a b c Disinformation index www.rand.org. Accessed 26 April 2024.
- ^ Alexandra Mousavizadeh is listed as a founder by Rand Corp.
- ^ About. GDI. Accessed 26 April 2024.
- ^ Ignatidou, S. (2019). EU–US cooperation on tackling disinformation. International Security Department. September.
- ^ "Knight Research Network". Knight Foundation.
- ^ "Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament".
- ^ "Global Disinformation Index". www.luminategroup.com.
- ^ "FKN0058 - Evidence on Disinformation and 'fake news'".
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Earle, A (2024). "Elon Musk: Global Disinformation Index should be shut down." UnHerd. April 19 2024. Accessed May 10 2024.
- ^ Earle, A (2024). "David Cameron: Government will no longer fund Global Disinformation Index." UnHerd. May 9 2024. Accessed May 10 2024.