Reading Voluntary Action trustee, Sue Roberts, summarises our recent Partner Forum on the challenges of misinformation.
On Tuesday 24 March, 20 representatives of Greater Reading’s business, voluntary and community sectors took part in an engaging Ethical Reading Partner Forum hosted by NatWest on the problems posed by misinformation.
The attendees included representatives from the University of Reading, Thames Valley Police, Grant Thornton, NatWest, Reading Voluntary Action (RVA), Clinton HR, Wokingham Positive Difference, HM Courts & Tribunals Service and Blake Morgan.
The scale of the problem
Dr Maxime Lepoutre, Associate Professor of Political Theory at the University of Reading, led the discussion on how malicious misinformation has grown to the point that it now significantly shapes decision making.
He used the example of the 2024 UK summer riots to illustrate challenges in combating misinformation, which he defined as ‘verifiably false information intended to deceive’. He explained that misinformation can spread rapidly, via social media, amplified by AI and malicious agents, often inciting harmful actions.
Delegates learned that four out of ten adults encounter misinformation each month and heard how negative counter-speech (the assertion that information is false) can actually serve to promote false beliefs, fuel scepticism and divert attention, distracting us from the real issues.
Perception vs reality
Thames Valley Police Commander, Colin Hudson, shared his thoughts from a local perspective. He referenced misinformation surrounding the royal wedding, which took place in Windsor in 2018, to illustrate how ongoing narratives can encourage scepticism and undermine authorities.
He pointed out that, although crime rates are generally declining in the Reading area, surveys show that residents feel less safe. As a result, the police need to respond proactively, particularly when under scrutiny about their actions during major incidents. He mentioned that this is one of the factors that has led to the establishment of the Reading Community Safety Partnership. This collaborative partnership brings together Reading Borough Council and Thames Valley Police with fire, probation and health services, with the aim of reducing crime and anti-social behaviour.
How can we address it?
Andy Wood, Senior Partner at Grant Thornton, suggested five key strategies for moving forward:
• promoting media literacy
• using trusted sources
• implementing evidence-based messaging
• engaging in prebunking (raising awareness of misinformation)
• fostering trust and transparency
A Q&A session sparked a lively discussion about why misinformation occurs and the dilemmas and risks it leads to.
Many thanks to Dr Maxime Lepoutre, Colin Hudson and Andy Wood for such an informative and insightful session and to NatWest for hosting.
About the author
Sue Roberts
Sue is a member of the Board of Trustees at Reading Voluntary Action (RVA) and Governance Manager at Maiden Erlegh Trust. Until recently she was a trustee at Berkshire Community Foundation.
An established community leader, she previously worked in local government. Sue has extensive knowledge of establishing partnerships between statutory and non-statutory agencies at senior level and managing stakeholder engagement.
