Photo 2 Swe Win a journalist, Myanmar Now, MDRF 2019 In a video message to the Forum (transcript), digital rights expert Dr Paul Bernal of the University of East Anglia in the UK, and author of The Internet, Warts and All: Free Speech, Privacy and Truth (Cambridge University Press, 2018) talked about how fake news is created to make money and manipulate, and how it can be written to be more believable than the real thing, and targeted on social media to ensure it spreads rapidly, particularly through sharing on Facebook. He identified two ways to tackle fake news: “The first priority is to make sure that the real and reliable news exists to counter it, including through well-trained journalists. The second way to counter fake news is to improve privacy so that we can reduce the ability of Facebook and other social media to use big data collection and analysis to micro-target fake news and promote its spread”. Noting that both of these were challenges for Myanmar, which is particularly vulnerable to fake news, he encouraged people in Myanmar to spend less time on Facebook, so as to reduce its dominance including as a news source. United Nations Special Rapporteur on Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, Clément Voule, spoke via video message to the Forum on his new report to the UN on digital assembly. He explained that the report will address the protection and promotion of the right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly in the digital era. Voule said, “The aim is to identify the issues that are impacting the exercise of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association online, and provide normative guidance on how both public authority and the private sector can better ensure their protection.” 4