Dutch State Secretary for Digitalisation follows BENEDMO in fight against disinformation
On 11 May 2022, the Dutch State Secretary for Digitalisation, Alexandra van Huffelen, visited the project coordinator Beeld en Geluid Den Haag to gain more insight into the work of BENEDMO and their approach against disinformation. "An important, but also complex subject," said Alexandra van Huffelen. During the visit, the challenges and possible solutions against disinformation were discussed from different perspectives.
The Dutch project partners University of Amsterdam, Leiden University, Bellingcat, ANP and Netwerk Mediawijsheid also joined to explain the various activities and expertise of the Flemish-Dutch network. During the round table discussions, the impact of BENEDMO on Dutch-language disinformation was discussed, as well as the gaps in research and policy, and the role of the government in all this. “The government is part of the discussion about who you can and cannot trust. It determines how we organise our society and democracy. It is, therefore, very important to have a good dialogue with them”, says Claes de Vreese (University of Amsterdam).
In addition, the partners highlighted the importance of a holistic approach, in which various different fields of research as well as ministries should cooperate. “There are various initiatives to limit disinformation, but there are still many gaps in the knowledge about disinformation as well. It is, therefore, encouraging that State Secretary van Huffelen endorses the importance of cooperation between different disciplines and parties for this complex problem,” concludes programme manager Julia Conemans (The Netherlands Institute of Sound and Vision).
