Govt moves to counter viral AI video, launches channels to report fake news

The government on Thursday launched a public reporting initiative and issued a strong rebuttal on the heels of a viral, AI-generated video falsely claiming Prime Minister Mia Mottley is leading a Caribbean revolution against former US President Donald Trump made the rounds.

The YouTube video on the FunJourney channel, had by Wednesday racked up 61 000 views and almost 300 comments.

At a post-Cabinet press briefing on Thursday, Home Affairs and Information Minister Wilfred Abrahams, flanked by Minister of Tourism Ian Gooding-Edghill and Minister of Labour Colin Jordan, said the spread of fake news had reached crisis stage.

The fallout from the video has prompted the government to take the initial step of setting up a special email address where citizens can report suspected or known cases of disinformation: reportfakenews@barbados.gov.bb.

Abrahams said: “I am going to ask Barbadians to get involved in the process. It’s about your interest as well. What happens to the reputation of Barbados or how Barbados is perceived internationally, affects you. It affects your business, it affects your children, it affects the economy of Barbados.

“If you see something circulating that does not make sense to you, please alert us to it. We will advise in short order as to whether it’s a fact or it’s a fiction. If you see something that you know is fake news, please bring it to our attention, so that we can dispel it and deal with it before it goes into frequent circulation and gains traction in Barbados and outside of Barbados.”

Abrahams told Barbadians that while AI can be a fantastic tool for good, it can also be used as a weapon of destruction: “More and more frequently, we are seeing persons using AI for mischief. And I cannot explain to you how authentic it looks. But sometimes things just do not make sense. They don’t sit [well] with you, they don’t resonate with you. Please help us to protect the reputation of Barbados.”

He continued: “If you see something and you know it’s fake news, email us at reportfakenews@barbados.gov.bb. We are going to establish an Instagram [account] as well so you can share it with us. I am going to share the other ways of communicating this with us because everybody might not use email. But this is now at crisis level.”

The information minister read a disclaimer issued on Thursday by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), which described the video as a “deliberate act of misinformation” designed to mislead the public and sow confusion.

It insisted that the content is “entirely false, misleading and wholly fictitious”.

The video makes claims that the prime minister, in response to supposed comments by President Trump, had made several statements, including banning him from the island.

“We categorically state that no such statements were ever made by the Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley; no official resolution banning President Trump has been issued by the Government of Barbados; no diplomatic consultations have been suspended, and there has been no formal or informal policy shift toward the creation of a so-called national security watch list based on personal political opinions or commentary,” the statement issued by the PMO said.

“This video must be considered a deliberate act of misinformation, designed to sow confusion, misrepresent Barbados’ foreign policy and sensationalise fabricated events for online engagement.”

The government rebuttal also urged the public to be vigilant in the face of such “malicious content” and to avoid sharing or engaging with posts that have not been verified by reputable or official sources.

Drawing further from the disclaimer, Abrahams called on citizens and friends of Barbados to be cautious of “sensational content” shared online, and if in doubt, to cross-check any major announcements with the official channels of the Barbados Government Information Service or trusted media sources.

He insisted that Barbados remains committed to its longstanding mandate of being friends of all, and satellites of none.

Minister Abrahams said: “We maintain respectful engagement with all nations and peoples, and the Government of Barbados will always stand for truth, respect and integrity. We ask the public to do its part in defending those same values, whether it be online or offline.” 

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb