Promotion and protection of human rights: human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms
Disinformation and freedom of opinion and expression during armed conflicts
Note by the Secretary-General
The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the General Assembly the report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan, submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 43/4.
Summary
In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan, examines the challenges that information manipulation poses to freedom of opinion and expression during armed conflict. In the report, she notes that the information environment in the digital age has become a dangerous theatre of war in which State and non-State actors, enabled by digital technology and social media, weaponize information to sow confusion, feed hate, incite violence and prolong conflict.
Emphasizing the vital importance of the right to information as a “survival right” on which people’s lives, health and safety depend, the Special Rapporteur recommends that human rights standards be reinforced alongside international humanitarian law during armed conflicts. She urges States to reaffirm their commitment to upholding freedom of opinion and expression and ensuring that action to counter disinformation, propaganda and incitement is well grounded in human rights. She recommends that social media companies align their policies and practices with human rights standards and apply them consistently across the world. She concludes by reiterating the need to build social resilience against disinformation and promote multi-stakeholder approaches that engage civil society as well as States, companies and international organizations.
I. Introduction
1. During armed conflict, people are at their most vulnerable and in the greatest need of accurate, trustworthy information to ensure their own safety and well-being. Yet, it is precisely in those situations that their freedom of opinion and expression, which includes “the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds”,1 is most constrained by the circumstances of war and the actions of the parties to the conflict and other actors to manipulate and restrict information for political, military and strategic objectives.
2. Manipulation of information and the information environment by State and armed groups has long been a feature of war. It has taken many forms, from “ruses of war” that seek to deceive and demoralize enemy troops to “information operations” aimed at influencing the public and “hate speech” aimed at fomenting violence against minorities. What is new and of serious concern is the ease, scale and speed with which false or misleading harmful information is being created, distributed and amplified by digital technology.
3. Social media platforms play a dual role in modern conflicts. On the one hand, they enable people to remain connected to family, friends and the outside world and to access a wide range of critical life-saving information. On the other hand, they serve as vectors of disinformation, propaganda and hate speech.
4. Either in response to disinformation or as part of their own efforts to manipulate information, many States have sought to restrict access to information through laws on national security, counter-terrorism or “false news”, attacks on independent journalists and human rights defenders, closure of independent media outlets, Internet shutdowns, and regulation of digital platforms in ways that undermine human rights and aggravate the very problems they wish to address.
5. Freedom of opinion and expression is not part of the problem. It is the means by which to combat disinformation and a value in itself. Access to diverse, verifiable sources of information is a fundamental human right. It is an essential necessity for people in conflict-affected societies. In effect, it is a “survival right”. It is also vital for resolving conflicts, exposing human rights abuses and seeking justice and accountability.
6. The heightened risks that disinformation and other forms of information manipulation pose to civilian populations, especially marginalized and vulnerable groups, and to human rights, humanitarian operations and peace processes underscore the urgency to reaffirm the obligations of States and companies to uphold freedom of opinion and expression. It is through respect for human rights and humanita rian principles that the integrity of information as well as the safety of people can be maintained during armed conflict.
7. Building on her report on countering disinformation while promoting and protecting freedom of opinion and expression, 2 in the present report, the Special Rapporteur focuses on disinformation, propaganda and advocacy of hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (“hate speech”) in the context of armed conflicts, as defined under international humanitarian law.
8. In the report, the Special Rapporteur examines the nature and impact of information manipulation; the legal framework; and the roles of States and social media companies. She identifies challenges and threats, including areas of weak compliance or legal uncertainties, as well as good practices, and makes recommendations, mainly to States and social media companies. The report is not a comprehensive study and does not examine the role of armed groups or companies other than social media, or cyberoperations.
9. The Special Rapporteur acknowledges the complex and sensitive nature of the subject and the need for further research, analysis and consultations and considers the report a preliminary step in engaging with interested stakeholders.
10. The report has benefited from consultations and written submissions from States, journalists, human rights defenders, scholars and civil society organizations.

Source: UN General Assembly