Dear friends,

It is a pleasure to join you today from UN Headquarters in New York.

At the United Nations, we have a vision.

One of everyone on earth living in peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet.

The world has agreed on a roadmap to achieve this – the Sustainable Development Goals.

But over halfway to 2030, they are in serious trouble.

Only 17 per cent of those targets are on track.

Progress on more than one third has stalled, or even gone backwards.

In short, the international community is failing – to secure peace, to tackle inequality, and to confront climate change.

I’m Melissa Fleming, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications.

My job is to communicate about the state of the world and to advocate for a better one.

Promoting more peaceful, sustainable, and humane societies – and also a healthier planet.

I have to say, year by year, that job is also growing harder.

As getting those messages heard in today’s post-truth era becomes more and more complex.

Global surveys show that much of the world now gets its information from social media.

Yet, those same online platforms are not built to promote sober facts or constructive solutions.

Most are powered by algorithms that are designed to amplify sensational content.

While some even actively downrank reliable information – including that from the UN.

The result? A murky online world of hate, conspiracy, and pseudo-science.

Recent leaps in generative AI have set off new alarm bells.

With the rise of fake news sites made to look like the real thing.

And the spread of deep fakes that are so convincing, so personalized, that even seasoned journalists and fact-checkers are struggling to spot them in real time.

No wonder many people no longer know what to believe.

This information landscape is increasingly undermining trust – in institutions, in democracy, in climate science and in vaccines.

Trust in our blueprint for a better world.

All this is impacting the UN’s efforts to make the world a better place.

Whether it is fighting the spread of climate disinformation, that’s designed to discredit the green energy transition.

Or pushing back against gender-based hate, that is pushing women out of the public sphere.

Individuals are suffering too.

Right now, as I speak, young people are being bullied into despair, or even suicide.

Climate activists are being attacked.

Cancer patients are being promised false cures.

And parents are being told that vaccines will harm their children.

Dear friends,

It does not have to be like this, and there are signs of hope.

People around the world are waking up to the need to restore trust in science and facts and return our information ecosystems to better health.

Last year, I told this forum that my team and I were working on a powerful new advocacy tool.

A set of recommendations, firmly rooted in human rights, to tackle the spread of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech.

Now, I’m proud to say, they are out in the world.

Aimed at all stakeholders, the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity offer a vision of a more humane information space. 

One in which damaging content is no longer promoted, and disinformation is no longer monetized.

A space in which the most reliable and the most accurate information is also the most accessible.

It is our hope that the Global Principles act as an important beacon for change.

And complement wider efforts by the UN and its member states to bridge digital divides, restore trust, and harness the benefits of emerging technologies while mitigating their risks.

Last month, world leaders met here in New York for the Summit of the Future.

They took a historic leap for our common digital future by adopting the Global Digital Compact, which is the first global framework for digital cooperation and AI governance.

Through the Compact, they pledged to make the online environment safe for all and also to promote information integrity, tolerance and respect in the digital space.

Dear friends,

We cannot let up. It is on all of us to build a better future.

Explore our Act Now campaign for tips on how you too can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

I hope you will join us – and help by spreading the word.

And, in your discussions over the coming days, keep focusing on constructive solutions for a better world.

And celebrate ideas that can help us make good on our promises.

Now is the time – to end poverty, protect the planet and leave no one behind, and, while doing so, to elevate the facts, inspire people to change.

Thank you.

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