Vague Executive Office plan to tackle 'harmful narratives' has 'more than a hint of Orwell' - MLA
Vague plans by Stormont to tackle “misinformation and harmful narratives” could easily stray into policing legitimate opinion and debate, an MLA has warned.
This week, the Executive Office (TEO) launched a consultation on its plan for improving race relations, with the first and deputy first ministers said sets out a “strategic vision for advancing racial equality” .
As part of the proposals, the Sinn Fein and DUP ministers says government should promote “shared cultural awareness and understanding through education and awareness initiatives which includes tackling misinformation and harmful narratives where relevant”.
When asked how the local government would decide what is misinformation or a harmful narrative - and what practical steps would it take to tackle it, TEO said it would be done through “building cohesion”.
A spokesperson said: “We are aware of harmful narrative that spreads all too easily including misinformation - incorrect information used innocently; and disinformation - incorrect information used maliciously. Tackling this needs government and communities to work together and all voices to be heard.
“It means building cohesion across communities and working at an early stage when there are signs of tension.”
Responding to the comments, TUV MLA Timothy Gaston – who sits on the Assembly’s TEO committee – said he has “very real concerns” about the language being used.
“Phrases such as ‘harmful narratives’ and ‘tackling misinformation’ are increasingly being used by governments as vague catch-all terms which can easily stray into policing legitimate opinion and debate. Who decides what a ‘harmful narrative’ is? Who is the arbiter of ‘misinformation’?
“There is more than a hint of Orwell's Ministry of Truth here and one does have to question how such a message is being pushed by the Executive Office when the DUP jointly run it”, the North Antrim MLA said.
“In a democratic society the role of government is not to decide which narratives are acceptable and which are not”.
The TUV man said deliberate falsehoods should be challenged, but “through open debate and the free exchange of views, not through officials deciding which narratives must be ‘tackled’.”
He said TEO has not explained who would make these judgments or what practical steps the government intends to take.