Pakistan’s UN envoy warns that weaponized disinformation and hate speech fuel conflict and hide rights abuses. He urges the UN to strengthen its role in protecting information integrity.
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Usman Jadoon warns fake narratives fuel conflict and obscure rights abuses, calling for truthful, inclusive and humane global information ecosystem
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Raises alarm over misuse of digital platforms to spread hate, racism and Islamophobia, flagging dangers of AI-driven misinformation and threats to information integrity
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Tells UN disinformation undermining public trust, social cohesion and multilateral institutions, backing stronger role for UN in combating global information disorder
UNITED NATIONS: Amid a surge in disinformation, escalating geopolitical tensions and growing armed conflicts, Pakistan has called on the United Nations to take concrete steps to promote an information environment that is truthful, inclusive and respectful of human dignity.
Addressing the UN Committee on Information — a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly mandated to oversee the work of the Department of Global Communications (DGC) — Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Usman Jadoon, stressed the critical importance of timely, accurate and impartial communication in an increasingly polarized world.
“Timely, accurate and impartial communication is most essential, particularly at a time marked by geopolitical tensions, polarization and widening inequalities,” Ambassador Jadoon told the committee.
Voicing concern over the weaponisation of disinformation in situations of foreign occupation and armed conflict, the Pakistani envoy warned that false narratives were increasingly being used to distort realities on the ground and suppress legitimate voices.
“False narratives are deployed to obscure human rights violations, demonize lawful struggles for self-determination and silence affected populations,” he said, pointing to the rapidly transforming global information landscape.
He noted that while technological advancements had broadened access to information and democratised communication, they had simultaneously accelerated the spread of disinformation, misinformation and hate speech on an unprecedented scale.
“These challenges strike at the core of public trust, social cohesion and the credibility of multilateral institutions, including the UN,” Ambassador Jadoon said.
He stressed that information must serve as a bridge for dialogue and cooperation rather than become a tool for manipulation, division or repression.
Expressing deep concern over the misuse of digital platforms, the Pakistani envoy said such platforms were increasingly being exploited to amplify falsehoods, deepen social divisions and target vulnerable communities.
“The persistence of hate speech, racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia in digital spaces is particularly alarming, often translating into real-world harm,” he said.
Ambassador Jadoon also highlighted the growing challenges posed by the rise of artificial intelligence and generative technologies, warning that while they offered immense potential for communication and development, their misuse posed serious risks to information integrity.
“Our collective response must be comprehensive and balanced,” he stressed.
The Pakistani envoy commended the United Nations Department of Global Communications for its continued efforts to adapt to the rapidly evolving information ecosystem and address emerging challenges, particularly in light of the Secretary-General’s Global Principles for Information Integrity.
He said those efforts were both timely and necessary to ensure that the UN remained an authoritative, trusted and accessible source of information.
