Harmful Information and Multilateral Diplomacy

Recognise and respond to information that harms multilateral work, with the tools diplomats already use.

Misinformation, disinformation, malinformation and hate speech do not only circulate online. They reach the formal meetings where diplomats work, and they can work through those meetings’ own procedures. Establishing the facts can take months, sometimes years; the harm spreads in hours. This course is about what you can do in that time, with the tools you already use: reporting to capital, démarches, lines to take, the right of reply and joint statements.

Who it is for: diplomats and international officials of every country, in missions, ministries and international organisations. No technical background is needed.

How it works: an orientation, six modules and a final exercise, about three and a half hours in all. Each module fits into one session of about half an hour. You go through the slides at your own pace, reading the narration on screen or listening to it, then read the lesson pages. Every case is a fictional case study built from patterns in real events; no real state is named. You keep five one-page job aids and your own action plan.

Produced by the ICT4Peace Foundation, Geneva. Questions: academy@ict4peace.org