In the Internet Foundation's latest survey, just over half of Swedish Internet users say that they are very worried that fake news on social media will be used to influence the outcome of the election.

The fear of being misled by disinformation online is a global phenomenon that has spread in recent years.

Researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute have, based on the latest global risk survey conducted in 142 countries with over 150,000 respondents (2019 World Risk Poll), studied how Internet users view different risks online.

"Globally, disinformation is the most worrying issue, ahead of risks such as credit card fraud and ID theft," said Professor Phil Howard, head of Oxford University's Democracy and Technology program.

Criticizes social media companies

He believes that social media has not done enough to address the problem, and politicians tend to either be too slow to react or want to regulate too much.

Therefore, he thinks an equivalent should be set up for the international climate panel IPCC.

- It is a good role model.

They organize experts to identify what things can be scientifically agreed upon, and present it to those in power.

However, the proposed organization, IPIE (Intergovernmental Panel on Information Environment), should stay away from politics, Howard says.

- They should not evaluate what is true and false.

They will find out when a platform has been used to manipulate the public, what problems are underway and which companies are handling it well.

"People question what the truth is"

In the current information war about Russia's attack on Ukraine, the authorities' previously secret information has played a new and important role in counteracting misinformation, says journalist Suzanne Kelly, at Cipher Brief, who has reported on US intelligence for many years.

- This is the first war I can remember where intelligence data was published so quickly, as the United States did about Moscow's intentions during the run-up to the war.

It is a good strategy to counter disinformation.

We live in a world where no one believes in facts anymore, when people constantly question what the truth is.