IGF 2025 Open Forum #23 Protecting Refugees: Digital Resilience & Info Integrity

In a world where online information risks - such as misinformation, disinformation and hate speech - shape public opinion, influence policy and erode trust, the impact on marginalized individuals can be devastating. This session examines information risks through a forced displacement lens – highlighting both the challenges and the opportunities to strengthen digital protection, access to reliable information, freedom of expression and social cohesion. When harmful narratives go unchallenged, they don’t just distort public debate—they create barriers to asylum, justify restrictive policies, and fuel hate speech that can lead to violence, social unrest, and further displacement. The urgency of the challenge cannot be overstated. To ensure digital protection for refugees, this Open Forum examines how we can collectively strengthen digital resilience and trust to ensure the integrity of information online. Presentations from diverse stakeholders – including Government, Tech and Private Sector, and the UN – will discuss digital resilience building approaches from pre-bunking, digital literacy, and multi-stakeholder partnerships. The session will be opened by the Norwegian Government (Innovation Norway). Opening remarks will emphasize the critical role of private sector partnerships to strengthen digital resilience. It will also highlight the importance of innovation in the Information Integrity space, and how innovative funding streams can promote the development of creative solutions to complex and evolving challenges. The session will then include 4 presentations from: UNHCR: This presentation will outline the specific information risks faced by forcibly displaced and stateless persons. This will include testimony from individuals with lived experience of displacement to highlight real-world examples where online risks have caused offline harms and hindered humanitarian access. Freedom of expression includes the right to seek, receive and impart information. When digital feeds are full of potentially harmful content, it becomes more challenging for communities to access trustworthy information, and for humanitarian organisations to deliver assistance. The presentation will argue for the critical role that strengthening digital resilience has to play in minimizing these risks and outline recommendations for diverse stakeholders. Department of Basic Education, South Africa: This presentation will focus on how approaches to build resilience to online information risks amongst learners can strengthen social cohesion in schools. It will highlight learning from a pilot project in South Africa which has tested innovative approaches to “pre-bunking” online anti-foreigner sentiment in support of the South African National Action Plan against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. Applied Law and Technology (ALT) Advisory, South Africa: ALT Advisory is an Africa-based collective of public interest lawyers, researchers, strategists, communicators and technologists working to safeguard and promote human rights in the digital environment. This presentation brings a perspective grounded in human rights and public interest – emphasizing the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms linked to information integrity. Tik Tok: This presentation will highlight the practical steps that social media companies can play in strengthening information integrity and promoting resilient information eco-systems. This includes examples of collaboration with civil society partners, the UN and media development organizations to strengthen digital literacy and promote trust and safety online. It will also profile the important role of supporting positive content that promotes solidarity and cohesion against prevailing divisive narratives.

The session will promote engagement from in-person and online participants. As an icebreaker, the session will open with an anonymous polling option (online with an accessible QR code to those in the room). This will not only break the ice, but support presenters to appropriately pitch their content. A Q&A session will also be scheduled to ensure interaction. This will include a dedicated online moderator to support online engagement – with questions submitted via an online Q&A with the option for anonymous participation. This Q&A will be made available for in-person participants wishing to remain anonymous. The rapporteur will make every effort to follow-up on unanswered questions in the Q&A for their inclusion in the session report. The moderator will frequently refer to online questions to support the session flow. A dedicated video screen will be available to support the engagement of online participants to allow them to address in-person attendees.