Comment on “True Freedom: The Core of Japan’s Strength” [in Japanese]
On May 17, 2024, the program “True Freedom: The Core of Japan’s Strength” featuring Professor Maiko Ichihara of the Graduate School of Law was released on the official PIVOT channel. The program delves into the mechanisms of influence operations by countries like China, which are becoming increasingly serious in international politics, and the strategies to counteract them. Professor Ichihara began by citing the spread of disinformation about the release of treated water from Fukushima. She explained how the attention economy model has expanded influence with the rise of the social media. She highlighted the importance of not only fostering trust through international cooperation but also sharing research on fact-checking and trends in information warfare to combat the spread of false information. She stressed that when engaging with information on social media daily, it’s essential to verify information from multiple sources for media literacy. However, methods such as the firehose of falsehood and information laundering make it extremely challenging to discern true information.
