The spread of misinformation and disinformation in the age of AI, coupled with the decline of local news, poses a “really significant challenge” to press freedom, says Rob Tinline, the British high commissioner to Canada. 

Tinline spoke to Dispatch ahead of the fifth annual media freedom dinner, which the high commission will host later this month in Ottawa. The black-tie dinner at Crichton Lodge will bring together about 100 journalists, high commission officials and representatives from the embassy of Finland, which co-chairs the Media Freedom Coalition with the U.K. 

“It’s an opportunity for people to get to know each other,” he said. “It’s a chance to spend time with the media here in Ottawa, but it also keeps a focus on the issues. It’s certainly a moment in the year where we reflect back on how media freedom is developing.” 

Tinline said it’s important to keep talking about the challenges, helping people develop critical skills to identify deepfakes and other false content. Established media have a responsibility to uphold high journalistic standards and maintain the public’s trust, he added.

“The amount of conversation that we’ve had not only in the U.K. but in Canada and elsewhere about disinformation, misinformation, is helping to embed in people’s minds that they do need to be critical of what they see,” he said

He pointed to the BBC, the U.K.’s public broadcaster, as an example of a large media institution with an authoritative voice to address misinformation and disinformation. “People respect and understand it has the highest standards of journalism,” he said.

Addressing social media companies’ algorithms and improving regulations to prevent youth from harm and deception is also important “to navigate a more complicated media landscape.”

The U.K. and Canada co-founded the Media Freedom Coalition in 2019, and served as its co-chairs until 2021. The global partnership of 51 countries exists to promote press freedom.

With financial pressures closing newsrooms and growing threats to journalists, press freedom remains essential, Tinline said. “It is absolutely a vital part of democracy,” he said. 

“The media is a really, really important part” of holding people to account, he added. “It’s not always comfortable for people in government, but we recognize that it’s absolutely vital.”

Tinline identified the disappearance of local newsrooms as a genuine concern for press freedom. The U.K. and Canada have vibrant media, he said, but local outlets are essential to scrutinizing governments and helping citizens understand what is happening. 

Tinline asked who “is asking the difficult questions” and digging into what local authorities are doing. He said it is “absolutely critical to have those democratic mechanisms — that there is somebody who helps the public understand what’s happening so it’s not simply government press releases.”

Reporters Without Borders ranked the U.K. 18th and Canada 20th on its Press Freedom Index; the United States ranked 64th, down from 57 last year. When asked about the rankings, Tinline said he could only speak for the U.K. “Whatever the precise ranking, the fundamental of press freedom is a treasured thing in the U.K.,” he said. 

China ranks 178 out of 180, above North Korea and Eritrea. British citizen Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong newspaper publisher and founder of the Apple Daily newspaper, was recently found guilty in China under over-broad national security laws. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Tinline said he had no new updates on the case but that the U.K. government will remain vocal on the detention. “We will continue to be there. That case is not going to diminish.”