President Macky Sall's candidacy for the office of UN Secretary-General places the integrity of information among the commons to protect. A false story travels the world before its correction has left the house. Coordinated campaigns, amplified by machines, blur the line between the true and the fabricated, and weaken trust everywhere.
A cheap weapon, lasting damage. Manipulating information costs little and pays much: dividing a society, casting doubt on an election, preparing violence. The recent crises all had their cloud of rumours, often sown on purpose. Organised lying has become an instrument of conflict.
Principles already set down. In 2024, the United Nations published Global Principles for Information Integrity, a first common marker: transparency of platforms, protection of journalists and researchers, accountability for those who amplify. These principles point a direction; what remains is to bring them to life.
Defending debate without muzzling it. Manipulation is fought through a public sphere where sources can be checked, where platforms account for themselves, and where independent journalism keeps the means to work. The freedom to inform and the fight against falsification move at the same pace.
What the Secretariat can carry. The Secretary-General runs no newsroom, but can carry a common standard of transparency, defend threatened journalists, and recall that disinformation which destabilises one country ends up reaching its neighbours. The integrity of information is a matter of peace.
Experience in running a state. Twelve years as head of state and the chairmanship of the African Union in 2022 underpin these commitments. That experience explains why the vision statement filed with the United Nations frames its proposals as obligations: peace, security and development conceived together; a renewed multilateralism; stronger governance of the Organization.
Africa at its heart, the world in its sights.
The United Nations Global Principles for Information Integrity are public. Read all public positions at www.mackysall.net