Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s greeting to the organisers, participants and guests of the 4th international forum, The Media and Digital Technology Facing the Challenge of Information and Historical Falsifications

Greeting to the organisers, participants and guests of the 4th international forum “The media and digital technology facing the challenge of information and historical falsifications.”

The West is using an unprecedented disinformation campaign as an integral part of the hybrid war it is waging against Russia and all independent states. Digital tools enable the perpetrators to falsify history, demonise opponents, substitute concepts and manipulate facts in various ways.

On the one hand, information has never been so accessible; on the other hand, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between truth and lies. Modern deep fakes are almost indistinguishable from reality.

To effectively respond to this challenge, states that reject aggressive and malicious interference in the international and national information landscape must combine their efforts. Russia’s initiative to develop an AI Code of Ethics to regulate the use of artificial intelligence within a universally recognised legal framework can serve as a shared goal.

It is important to bolster technological sovereignty while ensuring that the current algorithms for using the internet cannot be manipulated from the outside.

I am confident that your meeting will help further the ongoing efforts. I trust that the discussions you will have will meet high professional standards, that you will exchange useful experience, and your recommendations will subsequently be applied.

I wish you rewarding work and all the best.

Sergey Lavrov