The information environment is changing faster than ever. News is no longer produced and distributed only by journalists, news organisations or official institutions. Every citizen with a smartphone can now consume information, comment on it and help distribute it to others. Artificial intelligence has made this environment even more complex. Images, videos, audio and written material can now be created or altered within minutes and distributed to large audiences almost instantly.

This has opened new possibilities for communication, but it has also created new opportunities for misinformation and manufactured narratives.

AI can be used to produce fake content, fabricated accounts and misleading narratives at a speed that was difficult to imagine only a few years ago. Recent research has also identified organised influence operations in which seemingly ordinary citizen accounts are created to artificially amplify a particular political or social position. The challenge, therefore, is no longer limited to individual fake stories. It is about the wider information environment in which an organised narrative can sometimes gain public attention faster than verified information.

At times, official silence or unclear communication can create an information vacuum. That vacuum may then be filled by rumours, speculation or organised misleading content.

At times, official silence or unclear communication can create an information vacuum. That vacuum may then be filled by rumours, speculation or organised misleading content.

This development has changed the responsibilities of government communication institutions as........

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