Disinformation poses the greatest threat to democracies, remarked Public Affairs Officer at the US Consulate General-Hyderabad David Moyer, on Saturday.
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He called upon journalists to strive to disseminate uncontaminated information because the responsible citizenry forms opinions based on the information supplied by the media.
Delivering the keynote address at a ‘National Conference on Countering Disinformation’, jointly organised by the department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Osmania University, and the US Consulate General, Mr. Moyer said journalists help responsible citizens to form an opinion on contemporary issues. “Unfortunately, sometimes the disinformation comes from legitimate media outlets — not out of malice, but because we are swimming in a sea of information, some of which is true and some false,” he said.
He said it is not always easy to tell the difference between a lie and a fact. “But it’s important that we all work hard to see that difference and articulate it. This is particularly true for journalists, as the public relies on them to understand what’s going on in the world,” Mr. Moyer said.
University registrar Lakshminarayana underlined the need of countering disinformation and misinformation for the common good.