Lords Communications Committee to explore disinformation and the news with former head of National Cyber Security Centre and the CEO of Unherd

The evidence sessions will cover the threat to democracies from online disinformation, as well the risk that concerns around it limit open debate and alternative views on political and policy issues. The session forms part of the Committee’s ongoing inquiry into the future of news.

The evidence sessions will start at 2:30pm on Tuesday 16 April in Committee Room 2 of the House of Lords. The full witness details are:

2:30pm

• Professor Ciaran Martin, Professor of Practice in the Management of Public Organisations at Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford

3:30pm

• Freddie Sayers, Editor-in-Chief and Chief Executive Officer at UnHerd
• Professor William H. Dutton, Senior Fellow and Advisory Board Member at Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
• Katie Harbath, Chief Executive Officer at Anchor Change

In the first session the Committee will question Professor Martin on the evolving challenges around disinformation and the objectives of state actors, whether the Government’s response to the threat of disinformation is adequate, and the role of the media and technology firms in challenging and correcting inaccuracies and misleading content.

In the second session the Committee will explore whether the concept of disinformation has become politicised with a risk that alternative views are silenced, whether the response to a perceived threat of disinformation has in itself reduced public trust in traditional news outlets, and the appropriate role of the Government in responding to this issue.