#FactCheck -AI-Generated Video Falsely Shared as BJP-Led Border Fencing on West Bengal-Bangladesh Border

In the vast, interconnected cosmos of the internet, where knowledge and connectivity are celebrated as the twin suns of enlightenment, there lurk shadows of a more sinister nature. Here, in these darker corners, the innocence of childhood is not only exploited but also scarred, indelibly and forever. The production, distribution, and consumption of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) have surged to alarming levels globally, casting a long, ominous shadow over the digital landscape. 

In response to this pressing issue, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has unfurled a comprehensive four-part advisory, a beacon of hope aimed at combating CSAM and safeguarding the rights of children in this digital age. This advisory dated 27/10/23 is not merely a reaction to the rising tide of CSAM, but a testament to the imperative need for constant vigilance in the realm of cyber peace.

The statistics paint a sobering picture. In 2021, more than 1,500 instances of publishing, storing, and transmitting CSAM were reported, shedding a harsh light on the scale of the problem. Even more alarming is the upward trend in cases reported in subsequent years. By 2023, a staggering 450,207 cases of CSAM had already been reported, marking a significant increase from the 204,056 and 163,633 cases reported in 2022 and 2021, respectively.

The Key Aspects of Advisory

The NHRC's advisory commences with a fundamental recommendation - a redefinition of terminology. It suggests replacing the term 'Child Pornography' with 'Child Sexual Abuse Material' (CSAM). This shift in language is not merely semantic; it underscores the gravity of the issue, emphasizing that this is not about pornography but child abuse. 

Moreover, the advisory calls for the definition of 'sexually explicit' under Section 67B of the IT Act, 2000. This step is crucial for ensuring the prompt identification and removal of online CSAM. By giving a clear definition, law enforcement can act swiftly in removing such content from the internet.

The digital world knows no borders, and CSAM can easily cross jurisdictional lines. NHRC recognizes this challenge and proposes that laws be harmonized across jurisdictions through bilateral agreements. Moreover, it recommends pushing for the adoption of a UN draft Convention on 'Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes' at the General Assembly.

One of the critical aspects of the advisory is the strengthening of law enforcement. NHRC advocates for the creation of Specialized State Police Units in every state and union territory to handle CSAM-related cases. The central government is expected to provide support, including grants, to set up and equip these units. 

The NHRC further recommends establishing a Specialized Central Police Unit under the government of India's jurisdiction. This unit will focus on identifying and apprehending CSAM offenders and maintaining a repository of such content. Its role is not limited to law enforcement; it is expected to cooperate with investigative agencies, analyze patterns, and initiate the process for content takedown. This coordinated approach is designed to combat the problem effectively, both on the dark web and open web.

The role of internet intermediaries and social media platforms in controlling CSAM is undeniable. The NHRC advisory emphasizes that intermediaries must deploy technology, such as content moderation algorithms, to proactively detect and remove CSAM from their platforms. This places the onus on the platforms to be proactive in policing their content and ensuring the safety of their users. 

New Developments 

Platforms using end-to-end encryption services may be required to create additional protocols for monitoring the circulation of CSAM. Failure to do so may invite the withdrawal of the 'safe harbor' clause under Section 79 of the IT Act, 2000. This measure ensures that platforms using encryption technology are not inadvertently providing safe havens for those engaged in illegal activities. 

NHRC's advisory extends beyond legal and law enforcement measures; it emphasizes the importance of awareness and sensitization at various levels. Schools, colleges, and institutions are called upon to educate students, parents, and teachers about the modus operandi of online child sexual abusers, the vulnerabilities of children on the internet, and the early signs of online child abuse. 

To further enhance awareness, a cyber curriculum is proposed to be integrated into the education system. This curriculum will not only boost digital literacy but also educate students about relevant child care legislation, policies, and the legal consequences of violating them. 

NHRC recognizes that survivors of CSAM need more than legal measures and prevention strategies. Survivors are recommended to receive support services and opportunities for rehabilitation through various means. Partnerships with civil society and other stakeholders play a vital role in this aspect. Moreover, psycho-social care centers are proposed to be established in every district to facilitate need-based support services and organization of stigma eradication programs. 

NHRC's advisory is a resounding call to action, acknowledging the critical importance of protecting children from the perils of CSAM. By addressing legal gaps, strengthening law enforcement, regulating online platforms, and promoting awareness and support, the NHRC aims to create a safer digital environment for children. 

Conclusion 

In a world where the internet plays an increasingly central role in our lives, these recommendations are not just proactive but imperative. They underscore the collective responsibility of governments, law enforcement agencies, intermediaries, and society as a whole in safeguarding the rights and well-being of children in the digital age. 

NHRC's advisory is a pivotal guide to a more secure and child-friendly digital world. By addressing the rising tide of CSAM and emphasizing the need for constant vigilance, NHRC reaffirms the critical role of organizations, governments, and individuals in ensuring cyber peace and child protection in the digital age. The active contribution from premier cyber resilience firms like Cyber Peace Foundation, amplifies the collective action forging a secure digital space, highlighting the pivotal role played by think tanks in ensuring cyber peace and resilience. 

References:

• https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/nhrc-issues-advisory-regarding-child-sexual-abuse-material-on-internet-101698473197792.html
• https://ssrana.in/articles/nhrcs-advisory-proliferation-of-child-sexual-abuse-material-csam/
• https://theprint.in/india/specialised-central-police-unit-use-of-technology-to-proactively-detect-csam-nhrc-advisory/1822223/

‍

Introduction 

Prebunking is a technique that shifts the focus from directly challenging falsehoods or telling people what they need to believe to understanding how people are manipulated and misled online to begin with. It is a growing field of research that aims to help people resist persuasion by misinformation. Prebunking, or "attitudinal inoculation," is a way to teach people to spot and resist manipulative messages before they happen.  The crux of the approach is rooted in taking a step backwards and nipping the problem in the bud by deepening our understanding of it, instead of designing redressal mechanisms to tackle it after the fact. It has been proven effective in helping a wide range of people build resilience to misleading information.

Prebunking is a psychological strategy for countering the effect of misinformation with the goal of assisting individuals in identifying and resisting deceptive content, hence increasing resilience against future misinformation. Online manipulation is a complex issue, and multiple approaches are needed to curb its worst effects. Prebunking provides an opportunity to get ahead of online manipulation, providing a layer of protection before individuals encounter malicious content. Prebunking aids individuals in discerning and refuting misleading arguments, thus enabling them to resist a variety of online manipulations. 

Prebunking builds mental defenses for misinformation by providing warnings and counterarguments before people encounter malicious content. Inoculating people against false or misleading information is a powerful and effective method for building trust and understanding along with a personal capacity for discernment and fact-checking. Prebunking teaches people how to separate facts from myths by teaching them the importance of thinking in terms of ‘how you know what you know’ and consensus-building. Prebunking uses examples and case studies to explain the types and risks of misinformation so that individuals can apply these learnings to reject false claims and manipulation in the future as well. 

How Prebunking Helps Individuals Spot Manipulative Messages

Prebunking helps individuals identify manipulative messages by providing them with the necessary tools and knowledge to recognize common techniques used to spread misinformation. Successful prebunking strategies include;

1. Warnings;
2. Preemptive Refutation: It explains the narrative/technique and how particular information is manipulative in structure. The Inoculation treatment messages typically include 2-3 counterarguments and their refutations. An effective rebuttal provides the viewer with skills to fight any erroneous or misleading information they may encounter in the future.
3. Micro-dosing: A weakened or practical example of misinformation that is innocuous. 

All these alert individuals to potential manipulation attempts. Prebunking also offers weakened examples of misinformation, allowing individuals to practice identifying deceptive content. It activates mental defenses, preparing individuals to resist persuasion attempts. Misinformation can exploit cognitive biases: people tend to put a lot of faith in things they’ve heard repeatedly - a fact that malicious actors manipulate by flooding the Internet with their claims to help legitimise them by creating familiarity. The ‘prebunking’ technique helps to create resilience against misinformation and protects our minds from the harmful effects of misinformation. 

Prebunking essentially helps people control the information they consume by teaching them how to discern between accurate and deceptive content. It enables one to develop critical thinking skills, evaluate sources adequately and identify red flags. By incorporating these components and strategies, prebunking enhances the ability to spot manipulative messages, resist deceptive narratives, and make informed decisions when navigating the very dynamic and complex information landscape online.

CyberPeace Policy Recommendations

• Preventing and fighting misinformation necessitates joint efforts between different stakeholders. The government and policymakers should sponsor prebunking initiatives and information literacy programmes to counter misinformation and adopt systematic approaches. Regulatory frameworks should encourage accountability in the dissemination of online information on various platforms. Collaboration with educational institutions, technological companies and civil society organisations can assist in the implementation of prebunking techniques in a variety of areas.
• Higher educational institutions should support prebunking and media literacy and offer professional development opportunities for educators, and scholars by working with academics and professionals on the subject of misinformation by producing research studies on the grey areas and challenges associated with misinformation.
• Technological companies and social media platforms should improve algorithm transparency, create user-friendly tools and resources, and work with fact-checking organisations to incorporate fact-check labels and tools.
• Civil society organisations and NGOs should promote digital literacy campaigns to spread awareness on misinformation and teach prebunking strategies and critical information evaluation. Training programmes should be available to help people recognise and resist deceptive information using prebunking tactics. Advocacy efforts should support legislation or guidelines that support and encourage prebunking efforts and promote media literacy as a basic skill in the digital landscape. 
• Media outlets and journalists including print & social media should follow high journalistic standards and engage in fact-checking activities to ensure information accuracy before release. Collaboration with prebunking professionals, cyber security experts, researchers and advocacy analysts can result in instructional content and initiatives that promote media literacy, prebunking strategies and misinformation awareness.

Final Words

The World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2024 identifies misinformation and disinformation as the top most significant risks for the next two years. Misinformation and disinformation are rampant in today’s digital-first reality, and the ever-growing popularity of social media is only going to see the challenges compound further. It is absolutely imperative for all netizens and stakeholders  to adopt proactive approaches to counter the growing problem of misinformation. Prebunking is a powerful problem-solving tool in this regard because it aims at ‘protection through prevention’ instead of limiting the strategy to harm reduction and redressal.  We can draw parallels with the concept of vaccination or inoculation, reducing the probability of a misinformation infection. Prebunking exposes us to a weakened form of misinformation and provides ways to identify it, reducing the chance false information takes root in our psyches.

The most compelling attribute of this approach is that the focus is not only on preventing damage but also creating widespread ownership and citizen participation in the problem-solving process. Every empowered individual creates an additional layer of protection against the scourge of misinformation, not only making safer choices for themselves but also lowering the risk of spreading false claims to others.  

References

• [1] https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Global_Risks_Report_2024.pdf
• [2] https://prebunking.withgoogle.com/docs/A_Practical_Guide_to_Prebunking_Misinformation.pdf
• [3] https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/viewFile/17634/3565

‍

Introduction

Targeting airlines and airports, airline hoax threats are fabricated alarms which intend to disrupt normal day-to-day activities and create panic among the public. Security of public settings is of utmost importance, making them a vulnerable target. The consequences of such threats include the financial loss incurred by parties concerned, increased security protocols to be followed immediately after and in preparation, flight delays and diversions, emergency landings and passenger inconvenience and emotional distress. The motivation behind such threats is malicious intent of varying degrees, breaching national security, integrity and safety. However, apart from the government, airline and social media authorities which already have certain measures in place to tackle such issues, the public, through responsible consumption and verified sharing has an equal role in preventing the spread of misinformation and panic regarding the same.

Hoax Airline Threats

The recent spate of bomb hoax threats to Indian airlines has witnessed false reports about threats to (over) 500 flights since 14/10/2024, the majority being traced to posts on social media handles which are either anonymous or unverified. Some recent incidents include a hoax threat on Air India's flights from Delhi to Mumbai via Indore which was posted on X, 30/10/2024 and a flight from Nepal (Kathmandu) to Delhi on November 2nd, 2024.

As per reports by the Indian Express, steps are being taken to address such incidents by tweaking the assessment criteria for threats (regarding bombs) and authorities such as the Bomb Threat Assessment Committees (BTAC) are being selective in categorising them as specific and non-specific. Some other consideration factors include whether a VIP is onboard and whether the threat has been posted from an anonymous account with a similar history. 

CyberPeace Recommendations

1. For Public 

• Question sensational information: The public should scrutinise the information they’re consuming not only to keep themselves safe but also to be responsible to other citizens. Exercise caution before sharing alarming messages, posts and pieces of information
• Recognising credible sources: Rely only on trustworthy, verified sources when sharing information, especially when it comes to topics as serious as airline safety.
• Avoiding Reactionary Sharing: Sharing in a state of panic can contribute to the chaos created upon receiving unverified news, hence,  it is suggested to refrain from reactionary sharing.

2. For the Authorities & Agencies

• After a series of hoax bomb threats, the Government of India has issued an advisory to social media platforms calling for them to make efforts for the removal of such malicious content. Adherence to obligations such as the prompt removal of harmful content or disabling access to such unlawful information has been specified under the IT Rules, 2021. They are also obligated under the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 to report certain offences on their platform. The Ministry of Civil Aviation’s action plan consists of plans regarding hoax bomb threats being labelled as a cognisable offence, and attracting a no-flyers list as a penalty, among other things.

These plans also include steps such as :  

• Introduction of other corrective measures that are to be taken against bad actors (similar to having a non-flyers list).
• Introduction of a reporting mechanism which is specific to such threats.
• Focus on promoting awareness, digital literacy and critical thinking, fact-checking resources as well as encouraging the public to report such hoaxes

Conclusion

Preventing the spread of airline threat hoaxes is a collective responsibility which involves public engagement and ownership to strengthen safety measures and build upon the trust in the overall safety ecosystem (here; airline agencies, government authorities and the public). As the government and agencies take measures to prevent such instances, the public should continue to share information only from and on verified and trusted portals. It is encouraged that the public must remain vigilant and responsible while consuming and sharing information. 

References

• https://indianexpress.com/article/business/flight-bomb-threats-assessment-criteria-serious-9646397/
• https://www.wionews.com/world/indian-airline-flight-bound-for-new-delhi-from-nepal-receives-hoax-bomb-threat-amid-rise-in-similar-incidents-772795
• https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2024/Oct/26/centre-cautions-social-media-platforms-to-tackle-misinformation-after-hoax-bomb-threat-to-multiple-airlines
• https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/amid-rising-hoax-bomb-threats-to-indian-airlines-centre-issues-advisory-to-social-media-companies/articleshow/114624187.cms 

‍