Autocrats attack truth to be in power: Bellen

Austrian president trolls Trump 

Vienna: Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen has warned that autocrats deliberately use misinformation to erode the public's ability to distinguish right from wrong. 

Speaking to a visiting delegation of top global news agency executives, including PTI Editor-in-Chief Vijay Joshi, Van der Bellen highlighted the dangers of rapidly advancing technology. He noted AI enables anyone with a computer to depict opponents in compromising scenes or themselves as “Jesus or a doctor”.

This comment was a reference to a meme shared by Donald Trump (R), who depicted himself in the garb of Jesus. 

Van der Bellen, 82, also shared his own experience with a fake video using a “fake voice” to advocate crypto investments. He remarked the fakery was only obvious because of a North German accent that is “tricky to imitate” for Austrians.

The president emphasised news agencies must remain neutral and objective as traditional media faces increasing pressure. “Truth matters,” he said on Thursday at the presidential palace. “There can be no liberal democracy without truth. There can be no bright future without truth.”

He argued a shared understanding of facts is the only way citizens can make informed decisions about who to believe or vote for.