Presentation by CILIP CEO Nick Poole to the ISKO UK event and AGM on the role of ethical Information Professionals in combating 'fake news'

1. The role of the ethical Information Professional in
combatting ‘fake news’
Nick Poole, Chief Executive, CILIP
ISKO UK Knowledge Organisation and Ethics
19.03.2018

4. Libraries and
information services
are trusted because of
the values of
information
professionals.
Information
professionals are
trustworthy because of
our ethics

5. CILIP is the professional association for
librarians and other information
professionals
We exist to promote our professional
ethics & help people build a successful
career as a librarian or information
professional

6. Information Professionals
Librarians
Public
Librarians
School
Librarians
Library
Managers &
Assistants
Health
Librarians
Govt
Librarians
Data
Librarians
Academic &
Research
Librarians
Subject
Librarians
Other
Librarians
Information Managers
Information
Architects
Information
Governance
Managers
Information
Scientists
Information
Rights
Managers
Data
Protection
Officers
Taxonomy
Specialists
Analysts
Cyber-security
Managers
Web
Managers
Knowledge
Managers
Change
Managers
Knowledge
Architects
Knowledge
Advisers
Chief
Knowledge
Officers
KM
Facilitators
Data
Professionals
Data Scientists
Machine
Learning
Specialists
Data Analytics
Managers
Artificial
Intelligence
Specialists

7. Law
Ethics
Standards
Qualifications
Practice
Culture
Personal values, attitudes & competencies

8. Law
Ethics
Standards
Qualifications
Practice
Culture
Personal values, attitudes & competencies
The legal basis of the
information profession
has been widely neglected

9. Law
Ethics
Standards
Qualifications
Practice
Culture
Personal values, attitudes & competencies
Significant parts of the
community are unaware
of or disconnected from
the ethics of the
profession

10. Law
Ethics
Standards
Qualifications
Practice
Culture
Personal values, attitudes & competencies
Some sectors have drifted
away from an
understanding of the value
of standards

11. Law
Ethics
Standards
Qualifications
Practice
Culture
Personal values, attitudes & competencies
The value of professional
qualifications has been
undermined

12. Law
Ethics
Standards
Qualifications
Practice
Culture
Personal values, attitudes & competencies
The formal practice of
librarianship and
information science is
becoming obscured by the
‘blending’ of different roles

13. Law
Ethics
Standards
Qualifications
Practice
Culture
Personal values, attitudes & competencies
UNREGULATED SECTOR

14. Law
Ethics
Standards
Qualifications
Practice
Culture
Personal values, attitudes & competencies
UNREGULATED SECTOR
SELF-REGULATED SECTOR

15. Law
Ethics
Standards
Qualifications
Practice
Culture
Personal values, attitudes & competencies
UNREGULATED SECTOR
SELF-REGULATED SECTOR
REGULATED SECTOR

16. If we want to be a self-regulated sector
which has both credibility and legitimacy,
then our professional ethics are
paramount.
Ethics have to inform our standards, our
qualifications and our practice as
Information Professionals.

17. What is ‘ethics’?
 ‘Ethics’ in daily life refers to moral choice – balancing what you have a right to do
and what is ‘right’ to do
 ‘Professional ethics’ refers to adherence to the values and principles of a Code of
Professional Ethics and using these values and principles as the basis of good
judgement in your work
 All Ethics are subject to external norms – there is no ‘absolute’ morality, but rather a
set of principles that are defined by the social and professional context

18. CILIP Ethical Principles of Librarianship & Information Science
1. Concern for the public good in all professional matters, including respect for diversity
within society, and the promoting of equal opportunities and human rights
2. Concern for the good reputation of the information profession
3. Commitment to the defence, and the advancement, of access to information, ideas
and works of the imagination
4. Provision of the best possible service within available resources
5. Concern for balancing the needs of actual and potential users and the reasonable
demands of employers
6. Equitable treatment of all information users

19. CILIP Ethical Principles of Librarianship & Information Science
7. Impartiality, and avoidance of inappropriate bias, in acquiring and evaluating
information and in mediating it to other information users
8. Respect for confidentiality and privacy in dealing with information users
9. Concern for the conservation and preservation of our information heritage in all
formats
10. Respect for, and understanding of, the integrity of information items and for the
intellectual effort of those who created them
11. Commitment to maintaining and improving personal professional knowledge, skills
and competences
12. Respect for the skills and competences of all others, whether information
professionals or information users, employers or colleagues

20. ‘Fake news’ has reached the magnitude
of a public health crisis – on the same
scale and with the same implications as
obesity
It has to be tackled on a systemic basis
by a combination of citizens, producers
and regulatory authorities.

21. Ethical professionals
The ethical, reflective
Information Professional has
three connected roles to play in
combatting fake news

22. Ethical professionals
The ethical, reflective
Information Professional has
three connected roles to play in
combatting fake news
“Fair Trade” information
Enabling the ethical,
accountable & lawful
production, supply and
distribution of knowledge,
data & information

23. Ethical professionals
The ethical, reflective
Information Professional has
three connected roles to play in
combatting fake news
“Fair Trade” information
Enabling the ethical,
accountable & lawful
production, supply and
distribution of knowledge,
data & information
Meaningful regulation
Ensuring that regulatory
authorities are able to
combat systematic
misinformation without
eroding citizen’s rights

24. Ethical professionals
The ethical, reflective
Information Professional has
three connected roles to play in
combatting fake news
“Fair Trade” information
Enabling the ethical,
accountable & lawful
production, supply and
distribution of knowledge,
data & information
Meaningful regulation
Ensuring that regulatory
authorities are able to
combat systematic
misinformation without
eroding citizen’s rights
Empowered citizens
Educating information-
literate citizens to ensure
they are resilient to fake
news & do not amplify the
problem

25. “Fair Trade” Information (paraphrasing the WTO)
As ethical Information Professionals, we could adapt the WTO rules to the production, supply and
distribution of knowledge, information and data:
• Overcoming information inequality – democratising the means of production
• Transparency & accountability across the information supply chain
• Ensuring sustainable flows of value between creator, publisher & distributor
• Fair pricing for access to information negotiated transparently between producer & consumer
• Gender equity and non-discrimination in the production & use of information
• Reinvesting in the supply chain – ensuring price reflects cost of delivering ‘quality’
• Respect for the information environment – promoting a fair, sustainable information society

26. Meaningful regulation
As ethical Information Professionals, we can advise and guide regulatory authorities to ensure that
regulation and legislation are proportionate and prioritise the rights of the citizen
• Turing Institute Data Ethics Group
• British Academy & Royal Society Data Governance in the C21st
• Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Fake News Inquiry
• Press regulators - https://impress.press/
• Cabinet Office/Government Communications Fake news response unit
• Technology/social media companies policies on fake news and misinformation

27. Developing information-literate citizens
As ethical Information Professionals, we can build
the resilience of the general population by
developing information literacy & driving demand
for better information

28. Some of the biggest challenges we face
as a ‘post-truth’ democracy are
challenges of literacy, ethics, learning
and our sense of the ‘common good’
These are the values at the heart of
our profession

29. Be part of your profession
www.cilip.org.uk/join