Google is preparing to launch an anti-misinformation campaign across five countries in the European Union (EU), the company told Reuters ahead of the bloc’s parliamentary elections and tougher new rules tackling online content.

The following report is by Reuters:

In June, EU citizens will elect a new European Parliament to pass policies and laws in the region and lawmakers fear the spread of misinformation online could sway voters.

France, Poland and Germany accused Russia on Monday of putting together an elaborate network of websites to spread pro-Russian propaganda.

Europe’s Digital Services Act, which comes into force this week, will require very large online platforms and search engines to do more to tackle illegal content and risks to public security.

SEE: Warning: The EU To Fastrack Digital Services Act To ‘Tackle Illegal Content’ In Wake Of Israel-Hamas War, Which Spells The End Of Free Speech Online

From this spring, Google’s internal Jigsaw unit which operates to tackle threats to societies, will run a series of animated ads across platforms such as TikTok and YouTube in five EU countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and Poland.

Building on previous campaigns the company has tested in Germany and central Europe, Jigsaw said the new project was an opportunity to reach citizens in countries with some of the largest number of voters in the EU, utilising the company’s local expertise in these regions.

The ads will feature so-called “prebunking” techniques, developed in partnership with researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Bristol, aimed at helping viewers identify manipulative content before encountering it.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Google originally introduced this new technique a year ago to date in certain European states. SEE: Google Launches “Prebunking” Campaign In Europe To Stop Spread Of Fake News And Disinformation

Viewers watching the ads on YouTube will be asked to fill in a short multiple-choice questionnaire, designed to gauge what they have learned about misinformation.

“We’ve spent so much time having these really polarised debates. Our democracy is at stake, and the temperature just keeps getting higher and higher,” said Beth Goldberg, head of research at Jigsaw.

Prebunking is the only technique, at least that I’ve seen, that works equally effectively across the political spectrum.

Goldberg said.

Other measures to control misinformation like fact checking can add to polarisation because they come after the information has already spread, she added.

Last month, an investigation conducted by the EEAS (European Union External Action Service) uncovered 750 incidents of misleading information being deliberately spread by foreign actors, many voicing support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Jigsaw’s ads will be translated into all 24 official EU languages, the company said.

The campaign will run for at least one month, with a view to extend it based on reach and performance. Results from the campaign, including survey responses and the number of people reached, are expected to be published in summer 2024.


AUTHOR COMMENTARY

Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

1 Corinthians 15:33

As I have noted in other reports heading into 2024, and the first two months so far, censorship will only rapidly increase even more than it already has. A new string of calamities are set to be launched and the handlers have to get ahead of it to control the narrative, having collected the necessary data from their global experiment with The Covid War.

Since YouTube has become a real curmudgeon with ad blockers recently, I use the Brave browser to bypass that.


[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).

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