Edlira Palloshi-Disha

Researcher at MVDSI/ Teaching Assistant – Public Relations, Political Communication and Ethics of Communication

About Me

Edlira Palloshi Disha is a Research Assistant at the Max van der Stoel Institute (MVDSI) of the South East European University (SEEU) and a member of the Media Literacy and Disinformation Research Cluster (MeDisInfo). She is also a researcher at the Erasmus+ project ‘Fakespotting‘ and the project “SEE U Students 5.0: Media and Information Literacy in the Age of Disinformation,” implemented by IREX and funded by USAID.

She has BSc. in Communication sciences at the Faculty of Communication Sciences and Technologies at SEEU and MSc in Diplomacy at the Faculty of Contemporary Social Sciences. She defended her master’s thesis on a topic: ‘Disinformation as a tool in political campaigns – the way the audience perceives the Disinformation – the case study Republic of North Macedonia.’ Currently, she is a Ph.D. student in Media and Communication studies at SEEU. She lectures Public Relations and Political Communication to International Communication undergraduate students at the Faculty of Languages, Cultures, and Communication, SEEU.

Previously she was part of the SEEU Information and Promotion Office team, and since 2018, she has been coordinating the Central Research Office of the SEEU. She serves as the Managing Editor of SEEU Review, the SEEU international scientific journal published by De Gruyter. She has been the main contact for the HRS4R (Human Resource Strategy for Researchers) and actively participated in the Implementation Phase Interim Assessment Report for the fulfillment of the obligations arising from the European Charter of Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers within the European Commission.

As a communicator and researcher, she was a collaborator of several Institutes and organizations within the framework of various international projects for children’s rights, multiculturalism, civic education, culture, and media, such as the Center for Balkan Cooperation (LOJA), Coalition Sega, Options for a Healthy Life Skopje (HOPS), Trimbus Institute Netherland, Cooperazione Sud de Sud – Skopje – Italy (CISS), NGO Infocenter, Macedonian Institute for Media (MIM), Institute for Communication Sciences (ICS), The School of Journalism and Public Relations (SJPR), Research Institute of Social Development (RESIS), USAID, OSCE/ODIHR, etc.

Palloshi-Disha engagement was focused mainly on Media monitoring projects implemented by the Macedonian Media Institute (MIM), Institute for Communication Studies (ICS), and Research Institute of Social Development (RESIS). The analysis of media content for respecting the principles of factual, impartial, and balanced information in the news, as well as qualitative and quantitative analysis of the content of media coverage during local and parliamentary elections (television, radio, newspapers, portals).

Lately, she has been engaged as an analyst for media content for the project ‘Gender in the media 2019: Analysis of the gender issues in the national broadcasters’ children’s programs,’ commissioned by the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services, and implemented by the Research Institute on Social Development (RESIS).

Her fields of interest are but are not limited to mass media and digital media effects, information disorders, disinformation, media, information literacy, and societal resilience.

Education

Ph.D. candidate in Media and Communication studies (ongoing)
Faculty of Languages, Cultures and Communication, South East European University

MSc. in Diplomacy (2022)
Faculty of Contemporary Social Sciences, South East European University
Master Thesis: ‘Disinformation as a tool in political campaigns – the way the audience perceives the disinformation – case study Republic of North Macedonia”

BSc. in Communication Sciences (2008)
Faculty of Communication Sciences and Technologies, South East European University
Diploma Thesis: ‘The right to Access Public Information;
The Ethics project: ‘Anonymity in the new information age

News

February 2024: I attended the international symposium “Media Literacy in the Age of AI: Redefining the Possible” organized by the The Institute of Communication Studies (ICS) and IREX, within the USAID Media Literacy project “YouThink”in Skopje.
February 2024: I attended the EDMO scientific conference “Navigating the Complex Landscape of Disinformation” hosted by University of Amsterdam and organized by European Digital Media Observatory on 26 – 27 February.
November 2023: My article “Si ndikojnë dezinformatat në rritjen e apatisë politike të qytetarëve? (How does disinformation affect the increase of citizens’ political apathy)” was published online by the Institute for Media and Analytics (IMA)
September 2023: My article ‘“A mund t’i shpëtojmë dezinformimit politik: Ndjeshmëria te grupmoshat e ndryshme (Can we escape political disinformation: Susceptibility of different age groups)” was published online by the Institute for Media and Analytics (IMA)
September 2023: I attended the ‘Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in the Western Balkans’ In-Country Visit to North Macedonia -Whole of Society Session organized by the Centre for European Perspective – CEP. More…
April 2023: Our article “Vulnerability to Disinformation in Relation to Political Affiliation in North Macedonia” written by Edlira Palloshi Disha, Albulena Halili and Agron Rustemi, was just published in Media and Communication
April 2023: The Multiplier Event of the project Fakespotting was held at SEEU. More…
March 2023: The article “Media and Information Literacy Education in the Age of Disinformation: SEEU Professor and Student Perceptions”written by Albulena Halili, Edlira Palloshi-Disha, Demush Bajrami and Shemsedin Ibrahimi is published in the second issue of KAIROS: Media and Communication
December 2022: Our article ‘The Relation Between Political Indifference and Resilience to Disinformation’ written by Edlira Palloshi Disha and Agron Rustemi was published In Media Literacy and Academic Research, Slovakia
November 2022: The podcast was released: Celebrating Media Literacy Days 2022 – Podcast: Future Generation in the Disinformation Age. Listen it here
October 2022: I have just been promoted to the Research Assistant title for the Communication and Mass Media field
October 2022: I have been accepted into Ph.D. studies for the study program for Media and Communication at South East European University.
June 2022: The article “Media Literacy Education at the University Level: A Case Study of the South East European University (SEEU)” written by Demush Bajrami, Albulena Halili, Edlira Palloshi-Disha, Shemsedin Ibrahimi is published in the first issue of KAIROS: Media and Communication Review
May 2022: I have attended online ‘Riga Stratcomm Dialogue Conference’ organized by NATO Strategic Communication Center of Excellence
April 2022: I defended my Master’s dissertation on the topic: “Disinformation as a Tool in Political Campaigns: How the Audience Perceives the Disinformation’ in North Macedonia, Faculty of Contemporary Social Sciences, South East European University.
December 2021: The article ‘The online media landscape in the focus of disinformation campaigns in the Western Balkans: Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia’ written by
Edlira Palloshi Disha, Demush Bajrami, Agron Rustemi, was just published in the, ESCI indexed, Clarivate Analytics journal ‘Prizren Social Science Journal’
November 2021: My online article‘Disinformation during election campaigns – Audience vulnerability in social media according to the perception of the credibility of the source of information, political affiliation, and Age’ was published by Macedonia Institute for Media (MIM)
Nov 2020: The online kick-off meeting of the Erasmus+ FAKESPOTTING project took place. Representatives of 9 partner countries, including South East European University, discussed the future project activity