‘We have no control over YouTube, Facebook and X’ — Misinformation and disinformation discussed in parliament

The Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies has heard that although there is a lot of misinformation and disinformation, more focus should be placed on educating the public.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) appeared before the committee meeting on monday, which was held at the SABC in Auckland Park, and briefed the committee on several issues.

Among others, misinformation and disinformation about economic and racial transformation were discussed, as was whether any effort was being made to counter these.

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The committee explained that this is within the context of the recent executive order issued by the United States (US) government and “the advocacy by local anti-transformation groupings”.

When issuing the executive order, US President Donald Trump condemned the South African government’s apparent persecution of “certain groups of people” and the “horrible” things being done to them.

The US president referred to the Land Expropriation Act and said it was being used to take properties from these “certain groups of people”.

AfriForum has been condemned for spreading misinformation to the US. However, the organisation argued it was not to blame.

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It laid the blame at the ANC’s door, calling for the sanctioning of top party leaders instead of the executive order targeting those in need.

Misinformation and disinformation

The NAB told the committee that, although what was happening on social media was “awful”, it unfortunately did not have any control over these social media platforms that were being used to spread fake news.

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“The issue of misinformation and disinformation, it is awful what is happening. There needs to be a lot more consumer awareness. A lot of work is happening with government agencies around information campaigns at the school level and all through.

“All stakeholders need to work much closer on developing those campaigns and getting the message out, also making sure people know how to complain when they need to complain about these social media platforms. We have no control over YouTube, Facebook and X. These are the challenges we have.”

The NAB, however, said content providers that have signed up with the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) could be held accountable for the content they distribute.

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“The National Association of Broadcasters, a couple of years ago, launched a code of conduct for members who provide online content services and they sign up to the broadcasting complaints commission, so if you could complain about those certain services, you could. It’s a proactive role that the industry plays; there’s no regulation that calls for it, but it’s good public service.”