At the first Disinfo Pacific Conference in Brisbane this month, a striking contrast emerged between European and Pacific approaches to combating disinformation. While Europe has moved towards regulatory frameworks focusing on behavioural patterns and social media platform accountability, the Pacific region is largely focused on hyper-local resilience building.
That disinformation is a problem in paradise might come as a surprise to many. But the reality is that disinformation is just as prevalent across the Pacific as elsewhere in the world.
The Pacific Islands Forum has said that political instability, governance challenges, and limited resources continue to undermine democratic systems in the Pacific. Misinformation, disinformation, and foreign interference are making matters worse, further threatening regional sovereignty, social cohesion, and the stability of electoral systems.
Suddenly, everything was happening online. From live election results to government announcements, Facebook was the place to be.
This wasn’t always the case. Prior to 2017, social media uptake was sluggish. But the completion of submarine cable projects and telecommunication infrastructure investment by regional and international organisations drove a surge in social media uptake between 2017 and 2020. Cheap smartphone penetration alongside more affordable data plans meant countries such as Fiji, Nauru, Tuvalu, Samoa, and Marshall Islands experienced a rapid uptake in internet connectivity. Today, about 80 per cent of these countries’ populations are online – well above the global average.
Suddenly, everything was happening online. From live election results to government announcements, Facebook was the place to be. Despite virtuous efforts to improve digital connectivity – to lessen inequality and promote economic development – the dangers posed to the Pacific way of life became evident during the Covid-19 pandemic. Misinformation from outside the region, home-grown created or reconfigured information reflecting local traditions, biases, and beliefs, conspiracy theories, and harassment undermined information integrity and online safety.
By 2022, Facebook had amassed more than 22 million daily active users across Oceania, and the Pacific Islands had become a hotbed of online misinformation.
The problem in the Pacific is that it’s not just about online deception; it's the speed with which disinformation seeps into offline community conversations. Island cultures rely heavily on close-knit social networks and interpersonal accounts – often referred to as the "coconut wireless" – where rumours can spread rapidly. In this environment, online disinformation quickly transitions to offline chatter, influencing real-world perceptions.
Challenges are popping up across the Pacific Islands. Viral online rumours about organ harvesting in Papua New Guinea led to the temporary closure of schools, while WhatsApp rumours about kidnappings in Solomon Islands triggered roadblocks and at least two non-fatal attacks on foreigners. In Fiji, disinformation fuelling racial tension prompted the #fijiisunited campaign.
Political disinformation aside, the Pacific region also faces significant challenges in climate change disinformation and health infodemics, which undermine trust in science, government, and environmental stewardship. This issue is particularly acute in remote and isolated island communities, where varying levels of internet access complicate the flow of reliable information and affect health-seeking behaviours such as vaccine uptake.
Similarly, while the impacts of climate change – rising sea levels and extreme weather – in the Pacific are widely accepted, disinformation about resource exploitation, greenwashing, environmental deregulation, and climate levies continue to create confusion.
Action to counter online disinformation and build information integrity in the Pacific is already underway – through a uniquely Pacific approach.
This is why King Charles III recently warned Commonwealth leaders about the growing impact of misinformation and extremism spreading both online and offline, and why the United Nations Development Program Pacific Office has launched a new study examining information pollution and hate speech in the Pacific region.
Action to counter online disinformation and build information integrity in the Pacific is already underway – through a uniquely Pacific approach.
In the Pacific, people are everything. Values such as family, community, and respect are central to the way of life. In Fiji, these cultural concepts are expressed in words such as “sautu” – the aspiration for harmony, prosperity, and stability – and “vakarokoroko” – emphasising the importance of respect and care in villages. This sense of community resilience, collective action, and deep connection to people and nature is what lies at the heart of the Pacific’s response to disinformation.
Many countries have adopted a multi-sectoral approach. There were stories abound at the Disinfo Pacific Conference about hyper-local responses that combine social listening, training, and engaging trusted voices. Elders, religious leaders, and health professionals are uniting to counter the spread of false information and promote accurate messaging.
In Tonga, the Ministry of Health has been engaging communities through a multi-hazard approach to infodemic management, involving house-to-house visits, community sessions, and one-on-one discussions, with input from local figures such as teachers, parents, and community leaders.
Digital and media literacy initiatives are tailored to each island community to help build trust and foster cooperation, mitigating the effect of disinformation on vulnerable communities.
The Pacific response is necessarily different from Europe. There is a thriving counter-disinformation and fact-checking ecosystem in Europe capable of addressing the structural roots of the problem. In the Pacific, social media content moderation systems are ineffective as they rely on algorithms and human reviewers that do not cater to the region’s unique languages or cultural contexts. The lack of dedicated local fact-checking teams and under-investment in language-specific tools leaves Pacific Island nations exposed and in need of uniquely Pacific responses.
While the Pacific region may be at a different stage in its journey than Europe, Disinfo Pacific highlighted that there is a small but committed community working against the backsliding of truth and trust. But as generative artificial intelligence and evolving technologies undoubtedly amplify threats, passion to counter disinformation may not be enough. The Pacific's opportunity lies in its human-centered approach to capacity and resilience building – an approach partner countries and international agencies, including Australia, can better support and fund.
Combining the region’s unique cultural strengths with international cooperation and support might mean that paradise isn't so easily lost to disinformation after all.
