Saint Lucia needs stronger fact-checking tools to confront AI-driven misinformation but technology alone will not persuade people to question what they want to believe, Education and Digital Transformation Minister Kenson Casimir has warned.
Casimir called for better digital resources to help journalists and the public verify information, while arguing that personal attitudes remain a major obstacle.
“Do you really think we can do something about misinformation in Saint Lucia? We can,” he said.
But some people, he argued, seek information that supports conclusions they have already reached.
“There are individuals that no matter what you tell them, they want a particular truth to mean a particular thing,” Casimir said. “They will gravitate towards anything that can make their lie or their misinformation seem credible.”
His comments address a growing challenge: artificial intelligence can produce convincing fake images, audio and videos, making it harder for audiences to distinguish authentic content from manipulated material.
Casimir said Saint Lucia could strengthen its ability to identify misleading information by expanding access to verification software and other digital tools, including resources for newsrooms.
“We do have room in our digital space to provide more information, more software, more, let’s just say, gadgets at the hands of even you, the media, for you to proofread, fact-check, and get information on what the truth is in our society,” he said.
The minister also linked misinformation to political debate, arguing that selective comparisons could distort public assessments of Government performance.
He said critics could point to advances in wealthier countries to question Saint Lucia’s progress in education without accounting for differences in national budgets and private-sector investment.
He cautioned that familiar online sources should also face scrutiny.
“In education, even a lot of people use Wikipedia, a lot of people Google, and even then, that information still has to be fact-checked,” he said.
