In a significant step toward combating the global rise of misinformation and disinformation, a coalition of leading international organizations launched “Tackling Mis/Disinformation – A Global Digital Handbook for Communicators.”
This landmark guide provides public relations and communications professionals with practical tools, insights and ethical frameworks to address one of the most pressing threats to democracy and public trust.
The digital handbook is one of the deliverables stemming from the Media Information and Education Pledge, a joint initiative by the International Communications Consultancy Organization (ICCO) in partnership with the Council of Europe, The Trust Project, European Association of Communication Directors (EACD), Global Women in PR (GWPR), European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA) and International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC).
“At a time when mis/disinformation ranks as one of the greatest short-term global risks, this digital handbook is a call to action for communicators everywhere,” said Massimo Moriconi, Global Vice President at ICCO and Chair of the Mis/Disinformation Working Group.“It’s not just about identifying mis/disinformation – it’s about uniting various media stakeholders around information threats and share practical solutions, tools, and best cases. All sides have a collective responsibility to educate their own employees, in addition to the wider public.”
The Council of Europe, Europe’s leading human rights body, has underscored the importance of information integrity to democratic resilience.
This digital handbook supports that vision by providing actionable guidance in areas such as: Understanding society to mitigate mis/disinformation; Relevance of Media Literacy and the Role of communication professionals; AI and mis/disinformation: Risks and Opportunities; Importance of Traditional and Generative Search in fact-checking; The international cooperation within the information society ecosystem.
“This digital handbook is a timely and topical tool to support PR and communication professionals in understanding and tackling misinformation and disinformation challenges in their daily work, with a strong focus on fact-checking, media and literacy and ethical use of AI tools,” said Irena Guidikova Head of Democratic Institutions and Freedoms Department Council of Europe. “These themes closely resonate and align with the Council of Europe recent and current work in the field of media and communication in the digital age. In doing so, this resource provides a considerable contribution to the common effort to build a communication environment that fosters human rights and democracy.”
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