Appoint 'disinformation commissioner' to tackle fake news, Scottish MP says

Russian, Iran and China are attempting to sow disinformation in Scotland, he warns

The Scottish government should appoint a disinformation commissioner to counter fake news, harmful conspiracy theories and attempts from adversaries to influence democracy in the country, an SNP MP has said.

Stewart McDonald, the SNP's spokesman for defence at Westminster, has published a paper, outlining the threat posed by online disinformation campaigns originating from hostile states, such as Russia, Iran and China.

The paper argues that disinformation campaigns have become more sophisticated in recent years, and the issue is more relevant now due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Experts have earlier warned that the so-called fake news and disinformation campaigns can have a significant influence on society and politics in a country, given the ease with which they can be run via social media platforms. For example, after Donald Trump won in 2016, it was claimed that his election win was aided by dubious content pushed by Russia over platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

China is also said to have adopted similar tactics in recent years.

McDonald warns in his report that Scotland faces disinformation threats from actors "who make use of a large and evolving toolbox of techniques to influence and corrupt the Scottish information ecosystem."

"There is no panacea for this problem," he said, according to The Scotsman.

The MP highlighted increased disinformation activity from Russian "bots and troll farms" that are pushing false information around the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines produced in the West.

"The Scottish and UK governments should recognise that the past year has revealed just how vulnerable our societies are to disinformation - from within and outwith the state - and take urgent steps to build information resilience within the Scottish population," the MP for Glasgow South wrote.

McDonald makes nine recommendations in the paper to help fight disinformation, including an audit of the Scottish information ecosystem, appointing a dedicated commissioner, hosting a 'Clean Information Summit', and creating a youth information initiative.

The report proposes providing "information literacy training" to young Scots, which would see journalists improving "media literacy" among children and teaching them about misinformation.

It also recommends literacy programmes for journalists, politicians and civil servants, and urges the government to perform a "information eco-system audit" to assess the "availability of quality news to citizens".

The report proposes "annual open days" for Scottish media organisations, where public would be allowed to visit newsrooms for a day, enabling people to learn about how journalists work.

The practice could help rebuild trust in traditional media, according to the report.

"Any challenge to our own security, public health and societal cohesion must be met with a robust national strategy to counter that challenge and maintain the open, democratic way of life we enjoy," McDonald said.

"I hope this report encourages some deep and cross-party thinking on the issue, and encourages politicians and civil society groups to work together and help Scotland build robust information resilience that is fit for the modern age," he added.