- In the ongoing session of UN General Assembly, 20 countries, including France, Britain and India, have signed
the International Partnership on Information and Democracy on September 26, 2019, a historic inter-governmental accord initiated by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) to promote democratic principles in the online public arena.The initiative is made possible by RSF’s Information and Democracy Initiative. - It is an agreement to stop the spread of fake news on-line.
- The signatories, which also included South Africa and Canada, committed to promoting independently reported, diverse and reliable information on the internet under an accord initiated by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a press freedom watchdog.
- RSF said in a statement that the agreement underlined the responsibility of internet providers to promote trustworthy content and pluralism to escape the current information chaos.
- Fake accounts from China seeking to sow discord among protesters in Hong Kong were also found.
About International Declaration on Information and Democracy
- The “International Declaration on Information and Democracy,” which establishes democratic guarantees for the global information and communication space is an initiative by the Reporters Without Borders.
- The declaration, released on November 2, 2018, is an effort by the Information and Democracy Commission chaired by Christophe Deloire and Shirin Ebadi.
About Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
- Based in Paris, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is an independent NGO with consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF).
- Founded by four journalists in the southern French city Montpellier in 1985, RSF is now one of the world’s leading NGOs in the defense and promotion of freedom of information.
- In recent years, it has seen a marked increase in reactions from governments to the publication of the World Press Freedom Index.
