Ms Stephanie Comey:

I might add to that if I may. In parallel with that is the development of media literacy skills and critical thinking skills, something we are also involved in. The BAI is instrumental in supporting Media Literacy Ireland which is an informal alliance of volunteers from a wide variety of sectors. We have run campaigns in tandem with it. We have worked very hard during the Covid pandemic to fight disinformation with a Be Media Smart campaign to encourage people to find reliable information. We have also delivered webinars on the communication of science. There was one particularly on the communication of climate change. The value of it is that it goes beyond media. Some online platforms are members of the network along with our regulated entities, our public service broadcasters. There are also teachers, teacher unions and civil society organisations for young people and for older people. There is a vast swathe of members of the network.

The regulation and the instruments coming from Europe will help address some of those issues. There is also stuff we can do deep into society in talking to librarians and community organisations at a grassroots level to promote those messages. By working with the two in tandem we can mitigate those concerns.