INM executive to advise EU expert group on fake news

STEPHEN Rae, the Group Editor In Chief of Independent News & Media PLC, has been appointed to the European Commission’s High Level Expert Group on Fake News.

The role of the new expert group is to advise the European Commission on the spread of false information across traditional and social media and on how to cope with its social and political consequences.

Mr Rae was invited to join the expert group by the director general of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, Roberto Viola.

The group’s first meeting will be in Brussels next Monday.

“We have seen the widespread damage that can be done by the wilful dissemination of false information on social media platforms,” Mr Rae said. “I look forward to meeting and exchanging views with my colleagues on the expert group as we advise the European Commission on dealing with this complex challenge, which has major social and political consequences for citizens.”

Announcing the expert group last November, the Commission’s First Vice-President Frans Timmermans said: “The freedom to receive and impart information and the pluralism of the media are enshrined in the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights.

“We live in an era where the flow of information and misinformation has become almost overwhelming. That is why we need to give our citizens the tools to identify fake news, improve trust online, and manage the information they receive.”