The End of Infodemic? The 2021-2024 UN Effort to Ensure the Integrity of Public Information

Abstract

This article examines the United Nations’ efforts between 2021 and 2024 to promote the integrity of public information through the development of the Global Principles for Information Integrity. Responding to the growing threat of misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech, the study analyses how the UN sought to construct a non-binding, multilateral and multistakeholder response. Using qualitative textual analysis of UN reports, resolutions, and policy documents, the article traces the institutional process initiated by the Secretary-General’s call for a global code of conduct and culminating in the adoption of the Global Principles in 2024. The findings highlight both the potential and the limitations of multilateral cooperation in a fragmented information environment marked by geopolitical rivalry and technological change. The study contributes to debates on global governance by illustrating how normative frameworks can be mobilized to address information integrity while navigating tensions between human rights, state interests, and platform governance.