Would you trust the World Health Organization (WHO) as the ultimate arbiter when it comes to distinguishing online health-related misinformation from science-based, life-saving information?

The nearly 8 billion of us who currently inhabit planet Earth are being asked just that, to blindly accept this newly assumed role by the WHO, as supreme arbitrator of what constitutes online misinformation. With Big Tech, Google and its video arm YouTube, acting as censors-cum-enforcers.

WHO's on a mission

Some might do well to ponder the consequences of this decision, one that has not involved a single democratic instrument or process, and one that drives a coach and horses through any remaining interest in the sanctity of free speech.

Let's also consider the fact that the WHO is an unelected supra-national agency with intimate ties to an industry that is unequivocally known to be one of the most corrupt (see here, here and here).

On the WHO's website, under the heading "Combatting misinformation online," the agency states:

"WHO and partners recognize that misinformation online has the potential to travel further, faster and sometimes deeper than the truth — on some social media platforms, falsehoods are 70% more likely to get shared than accurate news.

"To counter this, WHO has taken a number of actions with tech companies to remain one step ahead."