The Project Coordinator Ion Mazur made a chronological retrospective of the most important activities and outlined the main results registered in the past two years within the project. A network of 35 agents of the STOP FALS! Campaign was set up under the project that organized and held 598 thematic meetings in villages and communes of all districts in the country, including TAU Găgăuzia and the Transnistrian region, during which they discussed about the phenomenon of disinformation and fake news, and the participants were trained in how to protect themselves against the effects of information manipulation. A similar meeting took place in each district center of the country, with the participation of the famous journalists Natalia Morari from TV8 and Alina Radu from Ziarul de Gardă. Overall, the project had about 13,500 direct beneficiaries, double the goal planned in the project. Informative items about the phenomenon of disinformation (flyers and posters in Romanian and Russian describing the steps to be taken by information consumers to not let themselves manipulated) were distributed during the meetings with the citizens, and the most active participants were offered promotional gifts with the STOP FALS! insignia (magnets T-shirts, backpacks). For a graphical illustration of the results registered in each district in part, API prepared an interactive map that can be accessed here.

One of the project’s goals was to refute the most serious fakes published in the media and in other communication sources inside and outside the country. For this purpose, the API journalists wrote tens of stories that have been published on the portal www.Stopfals.md, shared on the social media and sent to media outlets. Eighteen thematic stories on information fakes and manipulations about the realities in the European Union have been published in 20 local and regional newspapers and on their webpages as well as on 10 national and regional news portals. API also produced and broadcast the educational short film “Watch Out The News You Consume!” during the media education meetings whose short version was aired on several TV stations with national and regional coverage.

Project Significantly Contributes to Combating Disinformation

Present at the conference, the representative of the European Union Delegation to Moldova Gintautas Baranauskas said that combating disinformation was a priority action for the EU. “The European External Action service was set a few years ago due to realizing the need for combating disinformation in the regions. The actions taken to combat disinformation are focused on several key elements, and education is one of them. The project implemented by API has succeeded in contributing significantly to improving the situation in what concerns combating disinformation. An important element is the setting up of the network of agents who had traveled through the country to inform people about the risks of disinformation and to advise them not to fall in the trap of disinformation,” G. Baranauskas highlighted. The Project Director Petru Macovei, among others, referred to the importance of communication on the topic of disinformation with the citizens of all ages: “It is difficult to discuss with the people who have already developed certain views, who have certain habits of media consumption and political or other sympathies and empathies. However, we must reach out to the youngest, whose critical thinking is easier to educate, as well as to the oldest, to help them understand how manipulation takes place, so that they become more protected in terms of information.”

We Have Work for One Hundred Years More

The agents of the STOP FALS! Campaign spoke about the experience they had accumulated, the challenges they had faced, and about various unusual cases and situations that occurred during their meetings. “We had situations when we held the meeting with the people in the dark due to lack of electric power. In some situations, it was difficult to explain certain things to the people, because some of them thought we represented political parties. But each time I knew how to explain to the people that it was a European project for combating disinformation, without being ashamed of what I was doing. I am positive that most of those I had met with watch, listen to and read news differently from how they had done it before and doubt some of the information,” said Eugenia Crețu, agent of the Campaign for the district of Hâncești. “In those 18 months of the Campaign I had faced situations when spanners had been thrown into my works, the authorities had refused to organize some of the meetings, while in other localities, on the contrary, I was asked to come again. I have succeeded in reaching out to at least 500 persons in this district, they became my heroes, but I think we have work for 100 years more in combating disinformation,” opined Veronica Ateș, the agent of the Campaign for the district of Anenii Noi. “At the beginning, I thought the people would be careless to what I would say to them because they are concerned with their daily routines; however, I was surprised during the meetings that the people were interested in the topics discussed, asked questions and even admitted that their eyes had opened up to certain things they had not cared much about before,” said Petru Garciu, agent of the Campaign for TAU Găgăuzia.

An Axe Can Be Not Only Useful, But Also Dangerous if You Don’t Know How to Use It

Some project beneficiaries also participated in the conference. “We are happy we could also be part of the STOP FALS! Campaign. Metaphorically speaking, I learnt that the media are like an axe – useful, but can also be dangerous, if you do not know how to use it correctly. The avalanche of information that comes over us can be as dangerous if we fail to analyze it and to watch it with a critical eye. I think journalists should take an oath before starting practicing their profession, as doctors do,” thinks Liusea Ursachi from Cetireni, Ungheni. “Most youth spend their time on the social networks now, thus being the most exposed ones to fake news. Media disinformation can make many youth base their decisions on a fake reality. Therefore, we, the young generation, feel the need for such media education programs,” opined Marina Țâmbalari, high school pupil in Boșcana, Criuleni.

The project expert Ioana Avădani from the Independent Journalism Center of Bucharest, Romania, referred to the specifics, challenges and lessons to be learned by API and the agents of the STOP FALS! Campaign. “The word I want to assign to this campaign is ‘courage’. You have done a complicated job and that required a lot of effort. You have managed to reach out to the people despite the obstacles that had been put on your way, but you didn’t give up, and you have also grown. You have not only learned what media education is but you have also learned to do many other things that we had not done earlier, from presentations to speeches before the public. You held on and you must continue. If several years ago someone had asked me about such a project in the rural Romania, I would have said it was possible but without much chance for success. Now, however, I have become more confident, because I have seen that it works,” the Bucharest expert said. Alina Radu, the Director of Ziarul de Gardă, who had participated in many meetings organized under the Project, added, “After the meetings I had participated in, I realized how efficient is the model of direct communication with the people, of speaking with them face to face. You go down to their environment and bring them concrete examples of manipulation and fake news, and they will remember you. At the same time, I realize that we go down there once a month whereas disinformation sits at the head of the table each day. Therefore, I think we should continue this campaign and reach out to as many people as possible.”

During the Conference, API launched the Study of the Perception of Disinformation and Manipulation by Rural Consumers of Media Products.  

Ion Mazur, Rodica Malic

This event was held by the Association of Independent Press (API) with the financial support of the European Union. The content is the exclusive responsibility of API and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the European Union.