As the G20 leadership baton changes following the United States presidency in 2026, the United Kingdom faces a pivotal multilateral moment as host of the 2027 G20 Summit.
Against a backdrop of rapid Artificial Intelligence development, digital platform consolidation, and accelerating mis- and disinformation, a collaborative team of experts in the UK has compiled an M20 policy brief, making a direct case for embedding information integrity across the UK’s G20 agenda as a strategic priority for economic resilience, national security, and democratic governance.
The UK policy brief was led by Dr Yemisi Akinbobola, Associate Professor of Women’s Rights and Media Development at Birmingham City University and Co-founder of African Women in Media (AWiM), bringing together leading practitioners, scholars, and media policy specialists from across the UK.
The policy brief serves as a direct extension of Media 20 (M20) processes to date, using the Johannesburg Declaration as its foundation bloc. The declaration was adopted at the inaugural M20 summit, which was convened in Johannesburg by the South African National Editors’ Forum and Media Monitoring Africa (now Moxii Africa) during South Africa’s G20 Presidency in 2025.
The Johannesburg Declaration established the framework for tracking media viability, journalist safety, and information health, offering a baseline that this UK policy brief now advances into concrete G20 policy recommendations and mechanisms.
At the centre of the UK policy brief is a core proposition: Journalism is a public good, a vital element of a functional democracy; information integrity relies not only on curbing misinformation and harmful content, but on actively ensuring citizens have access to trustworthy, independent public interest news (PIN) produced to recognised ethical standards. Transparent and reliable information underpins investment decisions, market stability, and public trust. Unaddressed threats to the information environment carry measurable economic and social costs, deepening inequality and eroding sustainable development and international solidarity.
To address these global challenges, the brief outlines concrete policy frameworks across six interconnected themes and sets out vital key recommendations for the UK Government. These include
- Information Integrity as a named G20 priority: Formally embed information integrity as a named priority of the UK’s 2027 G20 Presidency, securing cross-departmental alignment and actionable commitments across Sherpa Track Working Groups and in the G20 Leaders’ Declaration.
- Convene a G20 Working Group on Fair AI and Media Governance: This group should include civil society, tech firms, and Global South representation — to develop shared principles on attribution, consent, and fair compensation when AI companies utilise media content.
By taking forward the M20 agenda, the UK has a rare opportunity to lead global standard-setting and protect the public information infrastructure essential for democracies.
Read and download the full policy brief here.
