Foreign Office to answer questions on disinformation diplomacy
As the Government has begun to speak more freely about the scale of threats from disinformation, the Foreign Affairs Committee is keen to understand the scale of the challenge and the reasons for the Department’s change in approach.
Disinformation – the spreading of false or inaccurate information to manipulate the opinions and actions of others – has become a favoured tool of malign state and non-state actors. In December, the Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP, delivered a warning about an “escalation in hybrid threats” seeking to undermine democracies in Europe, speaking about “Russian information warfare.” Disinformation also featured in the Secretary of State’s appearance at the Committee on 16 December.
Meeting details
MPs will consider the different approaches adopted by this government and its allies towards countering disinformation from Russia, China and Iran. The effectiveness of the Government’s approach towards non-state actors such as Daesh and Russia’s associated proxies in Africa will also be reviewed.
A range of different tools are available to ministers to counter disinformation, including soft power, the Defending Democracy Taskforce and the BBC World Service. The Committee will explore how government is flexing these levers in the face of changing priorities across the world.