G7 Working Group Meeting on disinformation at the Farnesina

A G7 Rapid Response Mechanism - RRM Working Group meeting, dedicated to countering disinformation, was held today at the Farnesina. The group was established in 2018 under the former Canadian G7 Presidency to strengthen coordination among partners in identifying and responding to threats to democracies, starting with disinformation promoted by third states.

In addition to G7 members, the meeting was attended by representatives of international organisations (NATO, EU, OECD), think tanks (ICCT), Italian stakeholders and institutions (IDMO, AGID) and companies (Google).

The meeting follows the course set by the G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting in Capri chaired by Minister Antonio Tajani. In fact, the final communiqué adopted by the G7 in Capri includes a section devoted to combating hybrid threats, which envisages a strengthening of the partners' action, especially in light of the numerous elections scheduled to take place in 2024 and the possible interference and information manipulation attempts by third states.

The opportunities and risks of Artificial Intelligence use, especially in the dissemination and amplification of fake news, and disinformation in electoral processes are central to the RRM agenda. How to improve partners' capacities to respond to various threats to democracy, as called for in the Borgo Egnazia final communiqué, was also discussed.