Skopje, 20 June 2023 (MIA) - Disinformation, especially electronic disinformation, is spreading and no one is immune. It is a growing threat in our societies. The fight against disinformation requires a well-coordinated and comprehensive societal approach and partnership among state institutions, media and civil society, concurred panelists at ‘Building societal resilience against the harmful influences of disinformation in North Macedonia’ conference on Tuesday, organized by the Presidential Center for Political Education and the Metamorphosis Foundation.

President Stevo Pendarovski emphasized that education is key to long-term societal resilience, and said that the educational system must include content related to media literacy, but also political education in the spirit of democratic values in the regular educational system.

President Pendarovski also pointed out that the Presidential Center for Political Education has already started such an initiative in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science, the Bureau for Education Development and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy from the United Kingdom, which are set to promote a publication with clear guidelines and recommendations for policy implementation for this segment on Wednesday.

"Our country, unfortunately, is a relatively easy target for disinformation campaigns because of weak institutional and societal resistance to them. What constitutes as an advance of democratic societies under normal circumstances, sadly, is the greatest potential weakness in terms of internal and external polarization. The Macedonian multicultural society exists solely on the basis of compromises and citizens' reediness to seek and accept compromises. Our democratic transition is far from over, and the best proof of that are the numerous surveys showing that a significant percentage of Macedonian citizens are supporters of the so called 'firm hand' in decision-making and support authoritarian models of governance as a supposed recipe for progress. Our fight against corruption is still more present in political declarations than reality, and corrupt politicians are always the least resistant to malign influences or because of the want for 'easy money', or because they have been blackmailed, and mostly because of both," said Pendarovski.

President Pendarovski assessed that the next step is transparency in the work of authorities, emphasizing that any concealment behind the veil of so-called state interests is unjustified. According to him, all information, except those concerning security, need to be made public because truth is the best weapon against disinformation and lies.

Dutch Ambassador Dirk Jan Kop said that societal resistance to disinformation requires national guidelines, appropriate behavior and legal regulation.

"We need to be aware that we cannot put an end to foreign and domestic actors that spread disinformation. However checking facts is very important, but if we focus on just checking information and debunking it, we will always be one step behind. We need societal resistance to stop disinformation. That requires national guidelines, appropriate action and legal regulation. Critical thinking and changing our mentalities are also important, people shouldn’t just blindly trust everything they see, read and hear," Kop noted.

Metamorphosis executive director Bardhyl Jashari believes that we should all work together to find solutions and reduce the damage of disinformation campaigns.

"Disinformation is becoming a serious problem, but it is not a problem concerning only media and it is not only a deficiency of professional journalism. This is a security issue and should be treated as such. I believe that we should all come and work together to find solutions and reduce the damage that disinformation campaigns inflict," Jashari said.

Aleksandar Spasov, chair of the Programming Council of the Presidential Center for Political Education and advisor to President Pendarovski, noted that the most effective fight against disinformation and propaganda is for society itself to be ready to recognize manipulation, lies, spreading prejudice and stereotypes, and what is legitimate debate over our differences in a democratic society, and added that societies and institutions always need to adapt to new challenges that come. ssh/ik/

Photo: MIA and Metamorphosis Foundation