The Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul" conducted a practical workshop on Friday, January 31, 2025, on methods of identifying and countering disinformation supported and sponsored by the Russian Federation in the Republic of Moldova. The event was attended by more than 20 young people, students, representatives of civil society organizations, members of youth centers, etc., who were selected based on a competition. The activity was part of the "Calling out disinformation and misinformation in the Republic of Moldova" project, funded by NATO's Public Diplomacy Division and implemented from December 2024 to March 2025, by IDIS ”Viitorul”.

At the opening of the workshop, Carolina Ungureanu, Deputy Director of IDIS "Viitorul", said that IDIS "Viitorul" has vast experience in implementing similar projects, and the interest in their activities and the topic of misinformation was high. "Lately, we see a strong tendency to spread false and misinforming information, not so much on TV, radio, or print media, but especially online, on social networks. What we have done before was useful and necessary for the participants of the misinformation activities. In this project, we also want to focus on methods to identify and counter misinformation and to promote truthful messages, so that citizens can have more exposed views on some phenomena", said Carolina Ungureanu.

Ion Tăbîrță, executive director of the NATO Information and Documentation Center in the Republic of Moldova, and trainer of the practical workshop, said that nowadays, in the context of current digital platforms and social networks, it is easy for the authors of hybrid activities, which aim to promote false messages, to implement them, and Russia's online disinformation campaigns against Western states illustrate this phenomenon well, even if some of them are very subtle, but with great impact and consequences. "If we are talking about disinformation, the NATO institution, and the Chișinău structure that I currently head, have been the most subject to manipulation and disinformation throughout the history of the Republic of Moldova, especially by Russian propaganda," said Ion Tăbîrță.

Also at the workshop, young people learned from trainer Nina Bolocan to create infographics and videos aimed at countering Russian disinformation narratives. As a result, the workshop participants will develop 18 content products that will be shared on Facebook and subsequently showcased in three hackathons on February 6, 11, and 18, 2025. Three of the most active and inspiring participants in the activities will go on a study visit to NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, planned for the first half of March 2025.

The overall objective of the "Calling out Disinformation and Misinformation in the Republic of Moldova" project is to support the effort to counter the threats of disinformation and manipulation coming from the Russian Federation, targeting the Republic of Moldova. The specific objective of the project is to increase the capacities of young people, students, and opinion leaders in areas such as critical thinking, media literacy, analysis, resistance to misinformation, and reflecting the information of public interest in an unbiased way. It also aims to increase the resiliency of the Moldovan society in terms of critical thinking, media literacy, and resisting disinformation through an awareness and visibility action on social media, specifically tailored to call out Russian and Russian proxies’ disinformation and misinformation campaigns.

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The "Calling out disinformation and misinformation in the Republic of Moldova" project, implemented by IDIS "Viitorul", is financially supported by the NATO's Public Diplomacy Division.

IDIS Viitorul is an independent think tank established in 1993 that combines social, political and economic research with strong advocacy components. The institution conducts applied monitoring research in several areas: economics, social policy, EU policies, regional development, and security and foreign policy risks.

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