Media Literacy & Disinformation (MeDisInfo) Research Cluster team members attended a regional conference ‘Defending Democracy in the Balkans: Safeguarding Information Integrity in the Digital Era, on 2nd April, organized by Metamorphosis Foundation and the Anti-Disinformation for the Balkans and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Netherlands.
During the opening session, panelists, including Vladimir Anchev from the Ministry of Defense, David Geer, the EU Ambassador to North Macedonia, Dirk Jan Kop, the Netherlands Ambassador to North Macedonia, and Bardhyl Jashari, Executive Director of the Metamorphosis Foundation, shared insights on the importance of collaborative efforts and highlighted necessary steps to combat disinformation effectively.
The event began with a focused discussion on the challenges associated with countering Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) in the Balkans from the perspective of fact-checking organizations within the region and North Macedonia.
Following this, the session continued on to the topic of “Democracy at Risk: Elections in the Age of Disinformation,” where attendees discussed the significant impact of disinformation on electoral processes.
During the conference, MeDisInfo team members had the opportunity to connect and share their experiences in countering disinformation and building resilience, fostering networking opportunities for future collaborations.
This event marked the International Fact-Checking Day that is organized worldwide. The conference attracted experts from the region and beyond who are actively involved in fact-checking and countering disinformation.
