LONDON: The UK government is planning to launch a new rapid response unit to monitor 'fake news' and combat disinformation online.
The team, to be based out of the Cabinet Office, will monitor social media to identify dubious information and trigger a factual debate.
The plans were revealed in an article in 'PR Week' magazine by Alex Aiken, executive director of the UK's Government Communication Service (GCS), who said he wanted to "build a rapid response social media capability to deal quickly with disinformation and reclaim a fact-based public debate".
"The real test for government communications is being nimble enough to respond to the many challenges thrown at it while remaining a reliable source of information," Aiken said, without elaborating on the details of the new rapid response unit.
"We are seeing changes in the way information is being processed and shared — a tech savvy but disparate audience hungry for information and influenced by a small number of dominant opinion formers in the public eye," he added.
The development follows a UK parliamentary committee's directive calling on social media giants to investigate thoroughly if Russia had meddled in the June 2016 European Union (EU) 'Brexit' referendum.
"There has to be a way of scrutinising the procedures that companies like Facebook put in place to help them identify known sources of disinformation, particularly when it's politically motivated and coming from another country," said Damian Collins, chair of the House of Commons' Culture, Media and Sport Committee.
The committee has demanded evidence as part of its wider inquiry looking at the impact of fake news on public life.
"The government is committed to tackling false information and the Government Communications Service plays a crucial role in this. Digital communications are constantly evolving and we are looking at ways to meet the challenging media landscape by harnessing the power of new technology for good," a Cabinet Office spokesperson said.