Yoon urges democracies to combat disinformation in ‘super election’ year

Diplomacy

Published: 21 Mar. 2024, 01:47 Updated: 21 Mar. 2024, 15:33

Yoon urges democracies to combat disinformation in ‘super election’ year

President Yoon Suk Yeol presides over a virtual leaders’ plenary session during the 3rd Summit for Democracy, hosted by Korea, at the Blue House in central Seoul on Wednesday evening. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

President Yoon Suk Yeol called for global solidarity to combat disinformation as it undermines fair elections and the foundation of democracy at a leaders' summit Wednesday.

"Fake news threatens elections, which are the foundation of democracy, by inciting people to make wrong decisions based on information that is not true," Yoon said during the third Summit for Democracy hosted by Korea. "This is a clear provocation and challenge against democracy."

The Summit for Democracy is a U.S.-led multilateral gathering launched in 2021 to boost solidarity and shared values among democratic countries.

"This is a super election year, where more than a third of the global population will cast their votes," Yoon said. "Our responsibility to safeguard the foundation of democracy through fair elections is greater than ever. We need to work together to establish laws and regulations to deal strictly with disinformation and misinformation."

Korea's general election is scheduled for April 10, while the U.S. presidential election is in November.

Yoon warned that "fake news and disinformation, systematically produced and distributed by certain forces, goes beyond simply spreading misinformation, but also causes social conflicts and division."

He made the remarks while presiding over the second session of the virtual leaders' plenary meeting from the Blue House in central Seoul, which discussed "Technology, Election, and Mis-/Dis-Information."

"International cooperation is needed to strictly enforce relevant laws to keep foreign forces from influencing the election processes of other countries," Yoon said.

He said there is a need for "sharing of technology," urging to build artificial intelligence (AI) and digital systems that can detect and combat against such forces that use such technologies "to create fake news and spread disinformation."

Yoon called on countries to "strengthen and expand solidarity among democracies that share universal values," stressing that one nation cannot bear the burden alone.

"To this end the Republic of Korea will closely work together with governments, international organizations and private sector partners," Yoon said. "We will continue to build on the achievements of the three Summits for Democracy, and we will join forces with our partners in the international community to firmly defend our democracy from misinformation and disinformation."

"As free and fair elections are the foundation of democracy, it is essential that voters are able to make decisions of their own free will based on necessary and sufficient information in an environment where freedom of expression is guaranteed," Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during this session. "However, there is a risk of AI-generated deepfakes and spoofed audio, making it difficult to distinguish between true and false information and hindering people's political self-determination, thereby destabilizing and disrupting society."

In his special remarks for the leader's plenary, U.S. President Joe Biden thanked Yoon for his leadership in hosting the third event, adding, "We're so proud and grateful to hand the reigns of the summit over to you."

Biden said that when he took office three years ago, the defining question was: "Can the democracies of the world still deliver for our people?" He underscored that they can.

"Let's keep working together to renew our democracies and advance democratic progress worldwide," Biden said. "That includes protecting the free press, fighting corruption, defending free and fair elections, advancing equality, because the strongest democracies are those where everyone contributes and everyone benefits."

The Biden administration has worked to unite democracies aligned with the United States, in apparent contrast to the global trend toward the authoritarianism of autocracies like Russia and China.

"In our time, democracy vastly expanded individual freedom and human rights," Yoon said in his English-language opening remarks to the leaders' plenary session. "It served as a foundation for global peace and prosperity. As leaders, we must take good care of this great legacy called democracy and pass it on to future generations."

The other hosts of the leaders' session were Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Kenyan President William Ruto.

The three-day summit, which opened with a ministerial meeting on Monday, was attended in person by officials, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and focused on the theme of "Democracy for Future Generations."

Yoon attended the opening ceremony held at The Shilla Seoul and held talks with Blinken on its sidelines.

On Monday, Korea, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan and Poland signed the Joint Statement on Efforts to Counter the Proliferation and Misuse of Commercial Spyware, which was initially launched by 11 like-minded countries at the second Summit for Democracy to commit to implementing guardrails against misuse of commercial spyware.

The first Summit for Democracy was held virtually and hosted by the United States. The second virtual event was hosted jointly by the governments of South Korea, the United States, Costa Rica, the Netherlands and Zambia.

On Thursday, the presidential office released a chair's summary, marking the conclusion of the third Summit for Democracy, which aimed to "contribute to the promotion of democracy as a solid foundation for freedom, peace and prosperity around the world."

The summit, co-chaired by Korea, Denmark and Kenya, addressed issues including technology and democracy, youth engagement, freedom of media, anticorruption, countering fake news and disinformation, election integrity and the rule of law.

It noted that participants "recognized the need to harness" AI and emerging digital technologies "to uphold democratic values and institutions, noting their potential to open new channels for participation and enhance transparency, openness, and accountability."

It added that that summit "highlighted the significance of promoting the long-term sustainability and resilience of democracies to ensure a promising future for future generations."

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]