The Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Law, Singapore, K Shanmugam, being interviewed by CNN National Security Analyst and Vice President, Global Studies and Fellows, New America, Peter Bergen, during the Global Security Forum, at the St Regis Hote
The Global Security Forum called yesterday for addressing the security challenges posed by the circulation of misleading information and its impact on the world where communications are increasingly evolving.
Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani inaugurated the second edition of the Forum being held at The St. Regis Hotel.
The inauguration was attended by a number of Their Excellencies the Ministers, senior officials from Arab and foreign countries, heads of diplomatic missions accredited to the country and guests of the forum.
The two-day event, is being organised by Soufan Center in partnership with Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and several strategic partners. The forum is exploring the security challenges posed by the proliferation of modern disinformation and its serious implications.
Speaking in the first panel under the title ‘General Overview on Disinformation: Exploring the Core Concepts and Threat Landscape’, Dr Hessa Al Jaber, Commissioner, United Nations ITU Broadband Commission for Digital Development and Chairperson of Es’hailsat, said that there are reports released by University of Oxford saying that 70 countries use social media 100 percent to broadcast false news.
Al Jaber also said that Qatar was one of the victims of fake information that was broadcast around the world, adding that “If we want to publish false news, we just need a computer and a platform where news can be published”.
“The social media platforms are now available to more than 45 million of people in the Middle East and North Africa. To face this challenge related to fake news, governments can issue laws to regulate false news. Some countries have enacted laws that stipulates that the publication of any fake information using social media invites heavy fines. Countries like Singapore, Malaysia, France and the United States have goods laws in this regard with policies to protect privacy,” she said.
Regarding Qatar’s dealing with false news, Dr. Ahmed Hasnah, President of HBKU, member of Qatar Foundation said in his speech that the first line of defence to deal with false news issues, is to build the moral system, adding that Qatar has made tremendous efforts in order to reduce and limit the spread of this false news.
Qatar also worked to educate the community that in the case of false news, people should not believe in it. They have to be careful and use logic in dealing with it, he said. Some countries are using false news at the political or economic level, pointing out that the siege imposed on Qatar was based entirely on false news.
Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, Government of Singapore K Shanmugam said in open debate held on the sidelines of the Forum that the communities should do their utmost to reduce the negative repercussions of the spread of negative and harmful information.
In Singapore, a law has been enacted to deal with those who disseminate incorrect information, he said adding that the law is applied to a number of steps so that a person is initially warned and if he didn’t respond correctly, then referred to court and imposed penalties. Senator Joe Donnelly Sr, Chairman of the Board, the Soufan Center, in his speech, stressed that this year’s forum will be unique, and thanked Qatar for its hospitality and providing this platform for the exchange of ideas and discussions on the subject. The core of the forum is to address misleading information campaigns that cause a major challenge in the collective understanding of concepts such as the concept of truth, reality, truth and objectivity.
US official praises Forum
US Embassy Chief of Mission in Qatar and Chargé d’Affaires William Grant praised the role of this conference in tackling important issues like terrorism and security. He added that this conference is very useful in understanding the challenges faced by this region.
Regarding the role of Qatar in fighting terrorism, he said that United States has a very strong agreement with Qatar regarding the finance of terrorism. He added that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani gave a wide ranging talk on Qatar’s position regarding the region and its relation with other countries.
When asked about what is the most important issue, he said that ‘to pick the important issues is hard, terrorism is an issue, what is going between Turkey and Syria, so there is a long list of issues and all these issues are important”. He also praised that 51 countries are taking part in this conference.
