The United Nations has ranked misinformation among the world’s most dangerous and underestimated threats, warning that a “fractured information ecosystem” is eroding trust, destabilizing democracies, and endangering human rights.
“Our world urgently needs an information ecosystem it can trust — one that promotes peace, sustainable development, and human rights,” UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming said Thursday at the Presidential Villa.
She spoke at the launch of the International Media and Information Literacy Institute, the first of its kind globally. The UNESCO-backed institute places Nigeria at the center of the fight against disinformation.
Fleming cited the UN’s first-ever Global Risk Report, released in 2025, which identified misinformation and disinformation as rapidly escalating global threats that are already weakening public trust and democratic institutions.
The UN’s 2024 Global Principles for Information Integrity, she said, rest on five pillars: societal trust and resilience, healthy information incentives, public empowerment through digital literacy, independent and pluralistic media, and transparency backed by research. “At the heart of these principles lies a firm commitment to human rights,” Fleming said.
The goal: an information space where people “can freely express themselves, make informed decisions, and maintain control over their data and online experiences without fear of manipulation or harm.”
President Bola Tinubu, represented by SGF George Akume, called IMILI a “historic milestone” for Nigeria, Africa, and the world. He said the institute arrives as false and harmful content challenges governance and social cohesion globally.
Tinubu urged young Nigerians to embrace critical thinking and responsible information use as “essential tools for national development.” He pledged federal funding, institutional partnership with the National Open University of Nigeria, and continued UNESCO collaboration.
UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, Mariya Gabriel, said media and information literacy is now “a vital civic and survival skill for modern democracies.” Yet the gaps are stark.
While 171 countries acknowledge media literacy’s importance, only 17 have fully integrated it into national strategies. In Africa, just 9 of 54 countries have embedded frameworks in their education systems.
Gabriel cited UNESCO data showing 62% of digital content is shared without verification. She also flagged digital inequality: women and girls face disproportionate online harassment and exclusion.
Information Minister Mohammed Idris said IMILI will serve as a global hub for research, training, and policy, bringing together educators, journalists, policymakers, and youth. He pledged to safeguard its independence and align it with international best practices.
The launch drew senior officials, global agencies, and media and education leaders — a sign of growing consensus that the misinformation fight is “not just technological but deeply human,” requiring education, collaboration, and political will.
With IMILI, Nigeria positions itself at the heart of a global push to rebuild trust in information — at a moment when, as Fleming put it, “the truth itself is increasingly under threat.”
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