Disinformation in the COVID-19 environment: Challenges in the new environment
Key points by Ioanna Georgia Eskiadi
In this webinar we discussed disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges that emerged in the new environment.
- Rise of disinformation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Internet, a tool for quicker spread of disinformation.
- Disinformation as a tool of influence.
- The threat of disinformation on public health.
- The threat for democracies.
- Need for trust in institutions.
- States, societies, and media organizations are facing new challenges.
- Disinformation as a chance to raise nationalism in Balkans.
- Public entities contribute to the fight against disinformation.
- The public can become part of the disinformation problem without even knowing it.
The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to new kinds of disinformation with a direct impact on public health. Disinformation and misinformation are quickly and widely disseminated across the internet, reaching and potentially influencing people. In North Macedonia, confusion and mistrust were created using COVID-19 border closures. Also, people from different religions or ethnic backgrounds have been blamed for the pandemic. This was done by presenting false documents from the Greek Ministry of foreign affairs in some media. “Even though sometimes fact-checking can be used to debunk, disinformation causes negative feelings. Disinformation has been an issue even before the pandemic what has changed is that now relates to health issues,” says Filip Stojanovski from Metamorphosis Foundation, North Macedonia.
At the same time, disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic has provided the chance to enhance the role of public entities to be able to fight disinformation. Public Service Media (PSM) during the pandemic according to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) shares the most up-to-date public health news and advice and challenges an “infodemic” of misinformation and fake news. All EBU members extended and changed their program and introduced new content; informing and educating the public has been a priority. “An example of the fight against disinformation during the pandemic is the ERT (Greek Broadcasting Corporation) which used 3 basic ways to fight disinformation:
- Quality news and journalism
- Collaboration
- Fact-checking
PSM needs to implement the EBU guidelines and editorial principles to guarantee quality journalism and trustworthiness. PSM also needs to counter disinformation and propaganda, develop education programs to inform audiences about the importance of source criticism, attract audiences through quality and innovation using creative and informative online content and social media platforms with a wider audience in order to reach young people and other hard-to-reach audiences,” says Zoi Pahounti from ERT, Greece.
Disinformation during the pandemic creates concerns about cybersecurity and the new reality; when the public shares fake news through social media it has a great impact on security, and the public becomes part of the issue without even knowing it. Disinformation about COVID-19 has profound serious repercussions: endangering public health and directly affecting people’s lives. As the COVID-19 situation develops, cyber attackers are exploiting the uncertainty surrounding the virus with the new vulnerabilities found in the new remote working culture, in creating scams related to COVID-19. Alongside, the average person can react to disinformation by photo search, by being mindful, looking around, checking the publication date of the article, checking if the timeline it refers to makes sense, and turning to the experts,” says Dr. Angelos Kaskanis from Tactics Institute for Security and Counter-Terrorism, Greece.
Speakers:
Dr. Angelos Kaskanis is Project Manager of Tactics Institute for Security and Counter-Terrorism and Managing director of Navarino Network from Greece.
Zoi Pahounti is the Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Citizens’ Communication Department at ERT (Greek Broadcasting Corporation) from Greece.
Filip Stojanovski is the Director for Partnership and Resource Development at Metamorphosis Foundation and Manager of the Critical Thinking for Mediawise Citizens from North Macedonia.
You can watch the discussion of DCN SEE Hub’s Facebook Page.
This event is co-organized by Digital Communication Network SouthEast Europe Hub (DCN SEE) and World Learning and is part of DCNSEE’s Ideas in Action — Digital Engagement, a series of virtual events launched in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. DCNSEE is supported by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Citizen Exchanges.
This global event was designed and arranged with support from the South-Central Asia Alumni Network of the State Department exchange program Professional Fellows, implemented by World Learning.
DCN SOUTHEAST EUROPE HUB is a consortium of Aristotle University, Digital Communication Network, nonprofits, public and private organizations and companies involved in the fields of digital communication, social impact campaigns, technology, and innovation. It is a unique, interdisciplinary coalition tapping into the best talent and resources across Europe.
