4 days ago
DES fights fake news about border dispute
The Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry has teamed up with various platforms to crack down on fake news and disinformation on the Thai-Cambodian border conflict, with a three-hour detection goal set after 1.1 billion suspected cases of false online information pertaining to border disputes were detected dating back five years.
DES Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong said new measures were in place to combat fake news and information operations (IO) following a high-level meeting of the Committee for Monitoring and Analysing Social Media News.
Speaking at Government House, Mr Prasert said the ministry held discussions with major social media platforms on Tuesday to seek cooperation in detecting and removing false information and IO-related accounts.
The platforms responded positively, and several important agreements were reached.
The meeting agreed to prioritise fake news related to unrest along Thailand's border regions and deploy AI technology to detect and block fake news across all channels.
The participants also agreed to increase manpower to enforce anti-fake news measures, and refer IO cases or psychological operation content to the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) for notification and takedown via platform coordination.
They also agreed to strengthen online identity verification, especially requiring companies to be verified for ad placements -- some of which is already underway.
The committee also approved a rapid-response protocol. Once fake news is detected and verified, factual corrections must be disseminated to the public within three hours.
Since 2019, the ministry has logged 1.1 billion suspected pieces of fake news for review and analysis. However, with improved technology, the government's capacity to detect and act on such disinformation has increased significantly.
The DES Ministry and the Public Relations Department will coordinate closely to launch timely communication and conduct continuous monitoring, the minister said.
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has been assigned to investigate service providers involved in IO activities and report to the committee.
