Global leaders unite to clamp down on “misinformation” with UN-backed Cascais Declaration

12/15/2024 / By Ava Grace

World leaders signed a United Nations declaration at the UNAOC Global Forum in Portugal, aimed at combating online “misinformation” and “hate speech.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres accused digital platforms and AI of unchecked proliferation of hate speech and misinformation, calling for intensified online censorship by Big Tech, advertisers and mainstream media.
Critics argue that the UN’s initiative introduces algorithmic censorship and demonetization under the guise of fighting misinformation and hate speech, highlighting the hypocrisy of organizations like the UN being serious offenders.
The declaration binds government leaders to combating disinformation and misinformation, and promoting information integrity, without defining these terms or proposing specific methods.
The declaration also includes support for sports diplomacy, women’s roles in peace negotiations, protection of religious sites, and the use of AI to advance cross-cultural dialogue.

World leaders have affixed their signatures to a United Nations declaration that seeks to stamp out online “misinformation” and “hate speech.”

The Cascais Declaration was signed at the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Global Forum, held from Nov. 25 to 27 at the Cascais municipality in Portugal. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed the forum, reiterating his commitment to censor online speech based on the usual set of “arguments.”

Guterres accused “unchecked digital platforms and AI” of allowing “hate speech to proliferate like never before.” He also denounced “misinformation and deepfakes” in the same context. (Related: UN Climate Change Censorship Regime seeks to convert journalists into propagandists and take control over the internet).

The secretary-general expressed his desire for Big Tech, advertisers and the mainstream media – alongside some governments and organizations like the UN itself – to double down on online censorship. Incidentally, the latter are among the most serious offenders when it comes to this.

Guterres also pushed a UN-backed censorship initiative during the three-day forum in his home country of Portugal. According to critics, this initiative introduces algorithmic censorship and demonetization under the scope of “anti-misinformation and hate speech” as per the UN’s Global Principles for Information Integrity. He argued that these recommendations allow for “a more humane information ecosystem.”

Cascais Declaration opens the door to more CENSORSHIP

Government leaders unanimously adopted the Cascais Declaration, with many of them being “alarmed” at the global spread of “disinformation, misinformation and hate speech” both online and offline. The document binds them to combating these while strengthening “information integrity.” However, the declaration does not define any of these terms and does not lay out any methods to fight them.

“We must [rein] in hate speech and misinformation spreading online. Hate-filled frenzies are perpetuating stereotypes and misconceptions,” Guterres told attendees of the UNAOC forum. He continued that misinformation and “outright lies” are “fueling repulsive antisemitism, anti-Muslim bigotry and attacks on minority Christian communities.”

“Unchecked digital platforms and artificial intelligence (AI) have endowed hate speech with a speed and reach unseen before, [and] many times they lead to violence. With the proliferation of deepfakes, the impossible and the unverified become credible in an instant.”

The calls for censorship are lumped in with recognition of “sports diplomacy as a tool for promoting dialogue,” support for women as “negotiators, mediators and peacemakers” and protection for religious sites, as well as “the potential use of artificial intelligence as a tool to advance intercultural and inter-religious dialogue.”

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Watch Alex Jones of InfoWars commenting on the signing of the Cascais Declaration, which will pave the way for more censorship, in this clip.

This video is from the TNTVNEWS channel on Brighteon.com.