Disclaimer:
Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed. It consists of personal reflections, insights, and learnings of the contributor(s). It may not be exhaustive, nor does it aim to be authoritative knowledge.
Title
Please provide a name for your action learning plan.
Exploring with False information
Challenge statement
Challenge type: If you are working on multiple challenges, please indicate if this is your "big bet" or "exploratory" challenge.
Please note: we ask you to only submit a maximum of 3 challenges - 1x Big Bet, 2x Exploratory. Each challenge must be submitted individually.
EXPLORATORY
Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)
Our challenge is to address and mitigate the pervasive issues of false information and misinformation in Jordan, recognizing the urgent need to foster media literacy, enhance fact-checking mechanisms, and promote accurate information dissemination to safeguard the public's trust and well-informed decision-making.
Background: What is the history of your challenge? What is causing or driving it? Who is involved? How does the current situation look like? What undesired effects does it produce?
In today's digital age, Jordan, home to 6.61 million social media users, equating to 58.4 per cent of the total population, faces the pressing issue of false information. For example, this challenge has recently manifested in the form of vaccination hesitancy, where false narratives and misleading information about the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccines circulated on social media platforms, resulting in doubts about their safety and efficacy and contributing to decreased vaccination rates. With the vast amount of online information, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between what is true and what is false. Therefore, initiatives are increasingly needed to address false information and equip people with the skills and tools to navigate the digital landscape. False information can hinder progress towards achieving sustainable development goals, particularly health and well-being, education, gender equality, and reducing inequalities. The UNDP Jordan Accelerator Lab UNDP recognises that addressing false information directly contributes to advancing the SDGs and their achievement in the country.
Quantitative evidence: What (official) data sources do you have on this challenge that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge? You can add text, a link, or a picture.
This initiative aligns with the UNDP Digital Strategy 2022 – 2025, which aims to support our partners in building inclusive, ethical, and sustainable digital communities, and it complements the new Anti-cybercrimes Law of Jordan, which criminalises the spread of false information and fake news.
Qualitative evidence: What weak signals have you recently spotted that characterizes its urgency? Please provide qualitative information that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge. You can add text, a link, or a picture.
https://www.undp.org/jordan/publications/analysis-x-jordan
Value proposition: What added value or unique value proposition is your Accelerator Lab bringing to solving this challenge? Why is it your Lab that needs to work on this challenge and not other actors within UNDP, other stakeholders in the country respectively? Why is it worth investing resources to this challenge?
In response to the critical challenge of false information prevailing in Jordan's digital landscape, our initiative helps foster a digitally resilient society. We intend to explore empowering individuals to distinguish between unintentional misinformation, intentional disinformation, and mal-information aimed at causing harm. By addressing media literacy and providing practical tools, we aim to fortify the public against the detrimental effects of false information, safeguarding progress towards vital Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in health, education, gender equality, and inequality reduction.The Jordan Accelerator Lab of UNDP is applying our methodologies and tools to combat false information in Jordan. This framework provides a roadmap for evaluating, analysing, mapping solutions, implementing experiments, and expanding successful interventions. Through adopting this framework, the lab seeks to tackle the issue of false information in Jordan and create appropriate interventions relevant to the local context.
Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?
The Accelerator lab in Jordan is exploring hate speech and the use of machine learning technology
Partners
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the partner:
UNDP's Emonitor+ initiative
What sector does our partner belong to?
United Nations
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
We are exploring the potential of partnering to utilize machine learning algorithms to detect and sense hate speech on social media platforms.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Learning questions
Learning question: What is your learning question for this challenge? What do you need to know or understand to work on your challenge statement?
1. What factors contribute to the false information landscape in Jordan, and how can we effectively analyze and understand its dynamics?
2. How can we design and implement interventions in Jordan to reduce the spread of false information, and what methods should be employed to test and scale these interventions for maximum effectiveness?
3. What strategies and tools can be employed to enhance the digital and information literacy of people in Jordan, ensuring they have the skills necessary to navigate and critically assess information in the digital age?
To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?
Sense, Explore
Usage of methods: Relating to your choice above, how will you use your methods & tools for this learning question? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
The Jordan Accelerator Lab of UNDP is applying our methodologies and tools to combat false information in Jordan. This framework provides a roadmap for evaluating, analysing, mapping solutions, implementing experiments, and expanding
successful interventions. Through adopting this framework, the lab seeks to tackle the issue of false information in Jordan and create appropriate interventions relevant to the local context.
Existing data gaps: Relating to your choice above, what existing gaps in data or information do these new sources of data addressing? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
In the context of understanding and analyzing the false information landscape in Jordan, the incorporation of new data sources can address gaps related to real-time information and sentiment analysis on social media platforms. Traditional methods may lack the immediacy and depth required to capture rapidly evolving trends and narratives. The value of these new data sources lies in providing a more nuanced, up-to-date understanding of the dynamics of false information, facilitating targeted and timely responses. When testing and scaling effective interventions against the spread of false information in Jordan, new data sources can fill gaps in measuring the impact and reach of interventions across diverse digital platforms. Traditional methods may fall short in capturing the intricacies of online interactions and the effectiveness of intervention strategies.The value added by these new data sources is in offering a more comprehensive and granular assessment, enabling informed decisions on scaling interventions that prove most successful.
Closing
Early leads to grow: Think about the possible grow phase for this challenge - who might benefit from your work on this challenge or who might be the champions in your country that you should inform or collaborate with early on to help you grow this challenge?
We are still in the sensing and exploratory a phase of addressing false information, there are many governmental institutions and other partners that would benefit from this work.
END OF ACTION LEARNING PLAN: Thank you! The form saves automatically and your submission has been recorded. You may now exit this window.
Read our publication here: https://www.undp.org/jordan/publications/analysis-x-jordan
9Industry, innovation and infrastructure
16Peace, justice and strong institutions
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