President Nicusor Dan stated on Wednesday, in his address to the UN General Assembly, that social media manipulation is a threat to democracy that does not receive the attention it deserves.
"It is an honor to address this assembly. And it is a special pleasure to do so in the USA, a country with which Romania shares a long-standing bond of friendshipa nation that Romanians regard with respect and gratitude, including for its essential contribution to the fall of the Iron Curtain and the paving of my country's path toward democracy and freedom," the country's president stated.
"We are at the United Nations, and I will speak about relations between nations. But first, allow me to draw attention to a threat facing our democracies that is not receiving the attention it deserves: manipulation via social media. The fundamental principle of democracy is 'one person, one voice, one vote.' But if thousands of fake accounts speak in a coordinated manner, the individual voice is no longer heard, and freedom of expression is denied," said Nicusor in his speech.
"And if thousands of accounts launch a coordinated attack on the ideas expressed by an individual, they discourage others from joining that person's cause, and freedom of association is denied," the Romanian president emphasized.
The UN General Assembly high-level meeting is the first one Nicusor Dan has attended since becoming the country's president.
Comentează