A/HRC/56/54 43. Several factors have allowed negative messaging about migrants to intensify, including political actors who have normalized disinformation about migration, individuals and networks who intentionally create and spread disinformation about migrants, and traditional and social media.41 Disinformation and misinformation relating to migration are now rampant. 44. Political figures and influencers increasingly transmit misleading narratives about migration, exploiting economic anxieties and incorrectly attributing job losses or lower wages to migration, despite evidence suggesting otherwise. 42 During economic slumps, it is easy, yet erroneous, to scapegoat migrants. While politically expedient in the short term, this strategy is destructive. It deflects from genuine societal issues, such as economic strain and inflation, which require informed policy responses rather than misdirected blame. 45. Individuals and networks who intentionally create and spread disinformation about migrants, often through highly coordinated campaigns, are multiplying. Far-right disinformation attacks often peak before national elections and have targeted specific migration-related events and initiatives, including the increased refugee flows in 2015– 201643 and the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. 44 46. Social media platforms serve to rapidly amplify disinformation and harmful narratives. They magnify xenophobic views and disregard migrants’ experiences. Algorithms and an advertising industry that prioritize sensationalist content increase user engagement and amplify disinformation.45 Artificial intelligence systems may inadvertently reflect these biases, highlighting the need for mechanisms to identify and mitigate xenophobia. 46 This digital proliferation of false information fuels divisive, polarized communities and the marginalization of migrants. Traditional media outlets often highlight the negative aspects of migration, contributing to a biased narrative in which events such as the 2015–2016 refugee flows have been depicted as a crisis, reinforcing discriminatory and stereotypical narratives. 47 47. Audience susceptibility to disinformation is influenced by pre-existing knowledge and biases, frequent exposure to false claims and a lack of willingness to employ critical scrutiny. Disinformation often targets and triggers emotions to capitalize on biases, provoking fear and outrage. 48 Resilience to disinformation is reduced amid politically populist and socially polarized environments, distrust in the media, an underdeveloped public service media, large advertising markets and a high level of social media usage.49 48. Few countries reported that they monitored and documented migrants’ contributions. This is essential for supporting a more positive, evidence-based narrative around migration. Canada stands out for actively evaluating the positive impacts of migrants, tracking migrant outcomes in a specialized database and collecting information about settlement and integration outcomes through surveys.50 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 8 Eileen Culloty and others, “Disinformation about migration: an age-old issue with new tech dimensions”, in World Migration Report 2022, McAuliffe and Triandafyllidou, eds., p. 223. Ibid., p. 223. See United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2015 (Geneva, 2016). See Marie McAuliffe, “The link between migration and technology is not what you think”, World Economic Forum, 14 December 2018. Culloty and others, “Disinformation about migration”, pp. 221 and 222. See Nenad Tomasev, Jonathan Leader Maynard and Iason Gabriel, “Manifestations of xenophobia in AI systems”, version 2, AI and Society, October 2023. Culloty and others, “Disinformation about migration”, p. 223. Ibid. See Edda Humprecht, Frank Esser and Peter Van Aelst, “Resilience to online disinformation: a framework for cross-national comparative research”, International Journal of Press/Politics, vol. 25, No. 3 (2020). Submission by Canada. GE.24-07075