GFCN president invited the participants of the forum in China to strengthen cooperation in the field of countering fakes

Vladimir Tabak, Director General of ANPO “Dialog” and ANPO “Dialog Regions”, President of GFCN, made this statement at the VI Russian-Chinese Media Forum “Creating a new future of Russian-Chinese Media Cooperation: Consensus and Actions” in Beijing, on December 16.

Vladimir Tabak spoke at the session “Regulation and Innovation in New Media in Russia and China.” The GFCN President discussed media trends and the regulation of global digital platforms, noting that many social media platforms are formally neutral but, in practice, convey politically biased narratives.

Vladimir Tabak also noted that there are currently no international legal mechanisms for disseminating information online and combating fake news. Many countries, including Russia, are forced to respond to the spread of disinformation with local actions. Therefore, the media sector needs associations like GFCN.

“We are developing an international project to combat fake information within the Global Fact-Checking Network (GFCN). We are very pleased that representatives of the People’s Republic of China have participated in the “Dialog about Fakes” forum for three years in a row and would like to invite you to strengthen cooperation in this area. We see great potential in the joint development of educational programs, the exchange of methods for identifying generative content, and the coordination of efforts on international platforms, including initiatives within the GFCN”, — emphasized Vladimir Tabak.

The GFCN president also noted the threat of deepfakes and discussed the “Zephyr” system for identifying and monitoring fabricated audiovisual content, which ANPO “Dialog Regions” is developing jointly with leading Russian big tech corporations. A proposal was also made to deepen cooperation between GFCN, Russia, and China in the fight against deepfakes.

GFCN has already begun collaborating with China. For several years, Chinese representatives have been speaking at the “Dialog about Fakes” Forum, and the Association’s experts also participated in the Global South Media Forum in Kunming.

Moreover, Andrey Kondrashov, Director General of the TASS news agency (a co-founder of GFCN), has repeatedly emphasized the importance of GFCN’s collaboration with Chinese experts and media, including at the recent OANA summit in Boao.

“Today, when we, the professional media, regularly face fake news and information attacks, it is critically important to share our experience in the field of fact-checking”, said Kondrashov.