Freedom of Speech: Tackling the Spread of Online Disinformation
On Friday, March 14th, Students of National Student Travel Foundation (NSTF) Mini-European Assembly gathered at Europe House to debate how the EU could strike a balance between countering disinformation and safeguarding freedom of speech.
The IV Plenary Session was opened by Ms Elaine Cordina, Public Relations Officer at the European Parliament Liaison Office who was chairing the session.
Rev. Joseph Borg, Senior Lecturer in Media and Communications at the University of Malta and Mr Christopher Coakley, Official at the European Parliament Spokesperson’s Unit, both delivered keynote addresses which set the groundwork for the ensuing discussion by sharing their expert insights from their fields.
“The European Parliament has called for an all-of-society approach to fight disinformation, so it’s encouraging to see young people from so many countries with innovative ideas to defend freedom of speech” - Mr. Christopher Coakley said.
"We are the first generation of humans that live in two real spaces at the same time: the physical space and the virtual space. We still need to learn the dynamics of this dual-space living. Media literacy that goes beyond skill training into the acquisition of critical skill of content is essential if we want to function properly in our personal lives as well as in our roles of students, workers and citizens." - Rev. Joseph Borg added.
The teams representing multiple European member states contributed different valuable perspectives to the issue and at the end adopted the Resolution that was prepared by the Delegation of the Czech Republic.
NSTF organises the Mini-European Assembly, a simulation of the European Parliament, on a yearly basis. The Assembly has been popular with young people since 1989.