Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 March 2023 to Question 171377 on Global Disinformation Index, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of Global Disinformation Index activity in identifying and countering the potential use of advertising revenue of news publishing companies to support candidates in elections in Commonwealth countries.

The Global Disinformation Index (GDI) seeks to assess and identify disinformation online and provide information to assist technology and media organisations in deterring such activities and to disrupt revenues that emanate from them. The FCDO has made no assessment of GDI in relation to the use of advertising revenue of news publishing companies to support candidates in elections in Commonwealth countries.

As with all FCDO programmes and projects, our support for GDI complies with His Majesty's Government's programme management, commercial and financial rules and guidance. This includes quarterly performance reports and frequent informal contacts between GDI and our programme managers. An independent review of our project with GDI conducted in 2022 concluded that "it is clear that GDI is making a real impact in countering disinformation".