UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned, correctly, that “the proliferation of hate and lies in the digital space is causing grave global harm now. It is fuelling conflict, death and destruction. It is threatening democracy and human rights”. We do indeed live in an age of disinformation, as Preslav Nakov wrote in these pages over the weekend.
Action is clearly necessary, and codes of conduct and AI fact-checking are welcome. But they can only do so much if politicians and governments do not set better examples themselves.
Let me present three statements made by prominent political leaders over the past few years, which I would argue were demonstrably false – a fact that the speakers ought to have known.
In 2016, one of Malaysia’s longstanding opposition figures, Lim Kit Siang, said that under then prime minister Najib Razak the country was headed towards becoming a “failed and rogue state”. That same year, leading figures in the Leave camp claimed before the Brexit referendum that if the UK stayed in the EU, 77 million Turks could come to Britain “without any checks at all”. Just a few days ago, US President Joe Biden said that China’s Belt and Road Initiative “turns out to be a debt and confiscation programme”.
Too many leaders are persuading people to take a black-and-white worldview
Mr Lim, or “Uncle Lim” as the now-retired politician is often fondly called, has won admiration for his independence and determination over a total of 29 years of leading Malaysia’s opposition – not always an easy task. But saying that the country was on the way to being a “failed and rogue state” when it had had years of good growth, low inflation and unemployment, and had been attracting record levels of foreign direct investment under the Najib administration, was utterly unjustifiable. The fact that the government changed after the general election two years later showed that it was also a properly functioning democracy. “Uncle Lim” knew better.
Anyone with the slightest understanding of the EU knows that Turkey will almost certainly never be allowed to join, and such is the scaremongering about mass Muslim immigration that there is no way EU officials would ever conceivably allow 77 million Turks (the entire population at the time) to enter the bloc without a visa, then grant them citizenship, after which they would all decide to move to the UK if it remained a member. Again, Leave campaigners were well aware of this.
Lastly, I think Mr Biden is a decent man, but he must know that the myth of the BRI as “debt-trap diplomacy” has been thoroughly debunked. No one has been forced to take loans. If one or two leaders have taken on unwise debts in bids to polish their own images, that has been their own choice. Most countries are very grateful for the financial support to build critical infrastructure that has not been as forthcoming from other powers. Indeed, it has recently been claimed by John Thornton – an American professor in China who is a former president of Goldman Sachs – that in 2013, when John Kerry was US secretary of state and Mr Biden was vice president, Mr Kerry had a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in which they both proposed constructing the BRI together; and that Mr Kerry later said that the failure to take that forward was the single biggest missed opportunity in his political life.
Mr Kerry is now Mr Biden’s climate envoy. Perhaps the two should have a word about the real nature of the BRI. Because politicians owe it to us to be straight, and careful, with the facts. Hyperbole may be permissible on the campaign trail, but distortion and outright misrepresentation should not be.
Unfortunately, there’s a long history of that, particularly in the US, as former senator Al Franken detailed as far back as 2003 in his book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. One example Mr Franken gave was when Democrats voted to extend a time-limited tax. Republicans would claim their opponents were voting to raise taxes, which was a false description of maintaining a levy that already existed. A lie? Mr Franken certainly thought so.
Another kind of deception is the omission of inconvenient facts. Bruno Macaes, the former secretary of state for European affairs in Portugal, recently tweeted that he “talked to a top foreign policy official from Taiwan a couple of weeks ago. No concern whatsoever about an invasion or blockade from China this decade”. Where, pray, has that voice been in the frenzied debate about Taiwan? Isn’t it of the utmost relevance?
But on Taiwan, as on the BRI, and maybe on Ukraine as well, we are being fed reductionist narratives by the “democracies versus autocracies” proponents that you are not allowed to challenge without being painted as a stooge or a puppet.
In western circles, for instance, the finger was universally pointed at Russia after the Nord Stream pipeline was blown up. Yet, citing leaked information online, The Washington Post reported last week that the Ukrainians had a plan to do this – and that the White House knew about this three months before the explosions.
Too many leaders are persuading people to take a black-and-white worldview by being economical with the truth or peddling falsehoods. And that includes those who should, and do, know better.
In Malaysia, where I live, we face this constantly, with people warning that Islam and the Malays are under threat, when in fact Malay Muslims are dominant in all state institutions and are making up an ever-increasing proportion of the population.
We are all diminished by this. AI fact checkers can certainly help a lot. But politicians in all parts could set a much better example by ensuring that what they say is properly based on the truth. It doesn’t seem too much to ask grown-up, experienced leaders to observe a rule that is one of the first we try to instil in our children.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Francesco Totti's bio
Born September 27, 1976
Position Attacking midifelder
Clubs played for (1) - Roma
Total seasons 24
First season 1992/93
Last season 2016/17
Appearances 786
Goals 307
Titles (5) - Serie A 1; Italian Cup 2; Italian Supercup 2
Series result
1st ODI Zimbabwe won by 6 wickets
2nd ODI Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets
3rd ODI Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets
4th ODI Zimbabwe won by 4 wickets
5th ODI Zimbabwe won by 3 wickets
Super Saturday results
4pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 | US$350,000 | (Dirt) | 1,200m
Winner: Drafted, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
4.35pm: Al Bastakiya Listed | $300,000 | (D) | 1,900m
Winner: Divine Image, Brett Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 | $350,000 | (Turf) | 1,200m
Winner: Blue Point, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 | $350,000 | (D) | 1,600m
Winner: Muntazah, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.
6.20pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 | $300,000 | (T) | 2,410m
Winner: Old Persian, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Group 1 | $600,000 | (D) | 2,000m
Winner: Capezzano, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.30pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 | $400,000 | (T) | 1,800m
Winner: Dream Castle, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
Super 30
Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5
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- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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PRISCILLA
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Director: Shady Ali
Cast: Boumi Fouad , Mohamed Tharout and Hisham Ismael
Rating: 3/5
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
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If you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Chicago from Dh5,215 return including taxes.
The hotels
Recommended hotels include the Intercontinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, located in an iconic skyscraper complete with a 1929 Olympic-size swimming pool from US$299 (Dh1,100) per night including taxes, and the Omni Chicago Hotel, an excellent value downtown address with elegant art deco furnishings and an excellent in-house restaurant. Rooms from US$239 (Dh877) per night including taxes.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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