Written by Alejandro Murillo, a Political Affairs intern from the United States of America serving with the Information Integrity Unit at the Department of Peace Operations. He has a background in social and cultural analysis of political narratives and is supporting the Information Integrity Unit’s work to establish a system for peacekeeping operations to more effectively monitor, analyse and respond to harmful information.
Disinformation and other harmful information, supercharged by digital technologies and social media, is harming communities and the UN peacekeepers working to protect them. It is deepening divisions between parties to conflicts and hindering UN peacekeeping operations, putting peace and security at risk.
Being able to identify online threats lets peacekeeping personnel work to prevent them. They can take steps like increasing patrols in at-risk areas, flagging inauthentic accounts to social media platforms, or advocating for investigations into perpetrators of hate speech. But taking action against harmful narratives requires parsing through a staggering and relentless volume of online chatter. It’s overwhelming if you don’t know how to do it, and the stakes are high when you are trying to prevent violence.
UN Member States and the Department of Peace Operations (DPO) have been implementing the policy, technology and training that UN peacekeeping missions need to monitor and analyze information online. In 2023, they established DPO’s Information Integrity Unit, which is equipping UN missions with the tools needed to identify misinformation, disinformation, malinformation and hate speech (MDMH), as well as the actors spreading it.
The team, together with the UN Office for Information Communications Technology, is developing a digital platform to monitor and analyze online content and behaviour. The Monitoring and Analysis of the Information Environment (MAIE) platform will input raw data from social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and YouTube as well as radios, and use AI to identify harmful narratives and inauthentic behaviour. It will be tailored to the unique environments peacekeeping missions face, complementing commercially available tools.
The team is also conducting in-country training for peacekeepers and community partners on monitoring, analysis and responses to harmful information, including best practice in how to anticipate and mitigate it. “[The training has] enabled me to conduct rapid and effective research on social networks,” said one peacekeeper serving in the Central African Republic. A recent uptick in disinformation targeting MINUSCA, the peacekeeping mission there, is putting personnel at greater risk of attack.
Building peacekeeping’s capacity comes at a critical time. Although harmful information is often passed through word-of-mouth and analog radio, it is increasingly being amplified through digital platforms, leading to more severe consequences.
Efforts to address MDMH in peacekeeping areas of operation are part of UN peacekeeping’s commitment to deliver on the UN Secretary-General’s vision for a UN 2.0 and on the Strategy for the Digital Transformation of UN Peacekeeping. Skilful operation of monitoring and analysis tools enables responses to harmful information that protect both peacekeepers and civilians.
This work has been made possible through Member State support. Their continued contribution, and steady efforts by DPO, will ensure peacekeeping continues to respond effectively to the threats posed by MDMH in a rapidly evolving digital environment.
This story is part of the “Action for Peacekeeping” (A4P) story series, which reports on efforts by the UN, its Member States, and other partners to strengthen peacekeeping operations, and the impact they have for people living in conflict areas.
Capabilities and Mindsets are a key priority of the Action for the Peacekeeping agenda and its implementation strategy, A4P+, which seeks to support data-driven and technology enabled approaches for effective mandate delivery.
*Definitions for MDMH are taken from:
- United Nations. What is Hate Speech?
- United Nations. June 2023. Our Common Agenda Policy Brief 8: Information Integrity on Digital Platforms.
- Report of the Secretary General. December 2021. Countering disinformation for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
- Ireton, Cherilyn, and Julie Posetti, eds. (2018). Journalism, 'Fake News' and Disinformation: A Handbook for Journalism Education and Training. Paris: UNESCO.