When you face mis- and disinformation as a public authority, you might think that correcting and speaking out the truth immediately would always be the best tactic. If so, according to the Finns, you should think again.

6 July 2022

In an interview to the Finnish national public broadcasting company Yleisradio Oy back in 2015, Finnish president Sauli Niinisto called on every Finnish citizen to take responsibility for the fight against false information. That was a year after Russia annexed Crimea.

Almost six years later, the challenge is likely to have grown even bigger with the Russian invasion of Ukraine followed by the historical Finnish decision to apply for NATO membership.

But Finland has a secret, peaceful weapon against hostile information campaigns, which civil servants including public communicators play a very important role in maintaining.

To reveal the nature of it, we asked the Finnish Prime Minister’s Office a handful of questions. They coordinate the counter information influence activities of the Finnish authorities.

---

What are Finnish public authorities' main messages to the Finnish people on how to address mis- and disinformation in light of the war in Ukraine?

- Since the beginning of Russian attack against Ukraine, the Finnish authorities have systematically communicated about the importance of preparedness, including preparedness against disinformation campaigns that aim to ferment fear or uncertainty.

Communicate proactively

- Finnish authorities agree that the best way to counter misinformation is to communicate proactively to the different audiences to ensure they have access to the information about the current issues. This is what the authorities (government as a whole, Defense Forces, researchers) and most of the media have been doing on a daily basis since the beginning of the Russian attack on 24 February.

- The focus has been on contextualizing the situation in both Ukraine and Russia, and on explaining what the ramifications to Finnish society are or might be in the future. These include, for instance, the future inconveniences and challenges of rising costs of energy and food, and influence campaigns that exploit these issues.

- The Finnish authorities’ key message has been as follows:

• Finland is well prepared
• We may start experiencing influence activities, such as cyber operations, information influence activities and political pressure
• We are well aware of all the means of doing this and know how to respond to them. We have nothing to worry about
• There is a price to pay for defending democratic values, and we will get through this together.

"We will get through this together"

The Finnish authorities to the public

Fighting specific content may amplify disinformation

What are your communication initiatives on addressing mis- and disinformation? Which ones do you deem most effective and why?

- Studies indicate it might be more productive to discuss the methodological side of information operations, rather than fighting the specific content used to manipulate people. Doing so may amplify disinformation and increase its effects.

- Therefore, the Finnish authorities have put most effort in raising the awareness about the issue and explaining the phenomenon (such as Russia’s strategic goals and mechanisms used to distort the information space). Government officials and experts give out interviews, but also arrange background briefings for the media and private and public organizations. Also, and not any less importantly, the Finnish media has done a remarkable job by covering the issue.

No Guardians of Truth

- What comes to the spread of mis- and disinformation within the Finnish society, it would create a backlash if the authorities took a role as the guardians of the truth and started to attribute domestic actors actively and publicly for their role in spreading, for instance, misinformation. This is a role better suited for the media. Much of the exposing and debunking of manipulation campaigns is done independently by the media, which is a highly trusted institution in Finland and an indispensable part of civil society.

"It would create a backlash if the authorities took a role as the guardians of the truth"

The Finnish Prime Ministers Office

How do the Finnish public authorities cooperate and coordinate to deal with misinformation and disinformation?

- The authorities, businesses and public organizations work together continuously in matters related to preparedness. This is in accordance with the Finnish model of comprehensive security. There are also well-established exercises that take place regularly. In these exercises, the authorities train together with key stakeholders to prepare for different scenarios, such as influence activities.

20 authorities work together

- In addition, there is a cross-governmental counter information-influencing network, which consists of 20 different authorities. The network gathers regularly to address preparedness to counter information influence activities. This may include briefings, sharing of information, planning, and training.

What is most important in the work on countering mis- and disinformation with government and public communication?

- Finland is an exceptionally high-trust society. This is also the best remedy against hostile information campaigns. According to the polls and studies, Finns trust the authorities, government, the media, and each other.

"Trust is also the best remedy against hostile information"

The finnish prime minister's office

Civil servants have to maintain public trust and not take it for granted

- However, the erosion of trust is a global trend, and we are well aware that civil servants have to maintain public trust actively and not take it for granted. This means transparency, complying with the high standards of democratic values and principles, treating people equally and making sure that our actions are also perceived to be such.

- To put it simply: we have to deliver what we promise and there is no space for any say-do gaps.

Head of communications Päivi Tampere and communications specialist Saara Jantunen from the Finnish Prime Minister's Office have contributed to this article.

WHAT IS MIS- AND DISINFORMATION?
It's good to have a public communicator at your side if you're a government official or a politician and you use words like misinformation, disinformation and fake news. You wouldn't want to misinform!

We have not been able to find studies of citizens', journalists', politicians', officials' (including public communicators') knowledge and perception of the terms, but it's probably not unlikely that there is widespread confusion.

Therefore, we take this opportunity to refresh the definitions with ProPublica's readers. The following is based on OECD's definitions.

—

Misinformation is false or inaccurate information not disseminated with with the intention of deceiving the public. If you misinform, you don't do it on purpose.

Disinformation on the other hand is false, inaccurate, or misleading information deliberately created, presented and disseminated to deceive the public. If you disinform, you do it on purpose.

—

Even with that clarification, we are not at the finish line yet. If you look at the definitions of misinformation and disinformation from a scientific theory perspective or a communicative one for example, they are not unproblematic. But more about that another time.