Let me begin by congratulating the Department of Global Communications on its 80th anniversary.
Amid a backdrop of heightened geopolitical tension and conflict, the need for facts and truth has never been more important.
We are proud to support the Department’s vital work to uphold the United Nations as a trusted source of information and to protect information integrity.
Chair, I will make three points.
First, the United Kingdom is alarmed by the unprecedented rate at which threats to information integrity are growing, fuelled by the misuse of artificial intelligence.
For the third year in a row, the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report has categorised misinformation and disinformation as one of the most severe risks facing our world over the next few years.
This is not a passive process.
Disinformation and information manipulation is being deployed by State and Non-State actors in deliberate operations to compound tensions, aggravate conflicts, and undermine trust in democratic institutions, and to deceive global audiences.
Since their illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Russia has been engaged in a campaign of information warfare, spreading disinformation, distorting facts, and distracting from the truth to undermine global support for Ukraine.
The United Kingdom will continue to stand with Ukraine and counter malign Russian information operations.
To date, the UK has sanctioned 40 enablers of Russian information manipulation, in collaboration with partners.
The United Kingdom also condemns disinformation campaigns targeting UN Peacekeeping operations, seeking to discredit the UN and turn local populations against Blue Helmets.
This is dangerous and irresponsible, and all Member States should condemn it.
We are proud to support the United Nations’ ‘Addressing Mis- and Disinformation and Hate Speech Threats’ project. This is as a vital tool to counter disinformation targeting UN Peacekeepers.
Second, the United Kingdom remains steadfast in its commitment to media freedom around the world, recognising the vital role of independent journalism in upholding human rights, safeguarding democracy, and putting the spotlight on the devastating reality of war.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 2024 and 2025 were the deadliest years on record for Journalists and media workers.
These dangers are particularly concentrated in conflict settings, including Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, and Sudan.
The United Kingdom strongly condemns all violence directed against journalists and media workers. International humanitarian law offers protection to civilian journalists during armed conflict.
We call for all attacks against media workers to be investigated and for those responsible to be prosecuted in compliance with national and international law.
As Co-Chair of the Media Freedom Coalition, the UK, with Finland, will promote and protect strong, independent public interest journalism globally.
This brings me to my third point, Chair.
The United Kingdom is committed to doing all we can to protect information integrity globally, including to support the Sustainable Development Goals.
The UK will continue to proudly support multilingualism, the Global Digital Compact, and our collective efforts to close the digital divide and ensure those who come online have access to accurate and reliable information.
