The Metamorphosis Foundation and the Anti-Disinformation Network for the Balkans (ADN-Balkans), through an interdisciplinary process of broad consultations in cooperation with international and regional partners, including the international conference “Together for Truth: Whole-of-Society Approach to Safeguard Democracy,” held in April 2025 in Skopje, developed the Position Paper: Blueprint for Protection of Democracy from Information Threats.

Systemic abuse of the information space through disinformation campaigns increases the erosion of public trust, leading to crisis of the democratic system. Western Balkans, as one of the most vulnerable regions in Europe, faces serious challenges in preserving the integrity of democratic institutions and processes, due to absence of regulation aligned with European institutions. To that end, the Metamorphosis Foundation and the Anti-Disinformation Network for the Balkans (ADN-Balkans) developed the following:

Blueprint for Protection of Democracy from Information Threats, which is based on the following key elements:

• Whole-of-society approach: Including the state institutions, the media, the civil society organizations, the academic community and the private sector in a joint, coordinated approach aimed at protecting the democratic order.
• Coordinated action: Synchronized activities at national, regional and European level, based on close cooperation and exchange of information between all democratic actors.
• Proportional budgeting: Securing financial means proportional to the investment of the antidemocratic actors.
• Smart and strategic action: Focus on understanding the goals and strategies behind the campaigns of manipulation, prioritizing analytical approach and precise reaction.
• Joint regional strategic approach towards the same goal and common regional strategy: Formulating and implementing one common regional strategy to deal with information threats that would unite the efforts from all the countries from Western Balkans. Such coordinated approach is in line with the processes of the Euro-Atlantic integration that include building resilience mechanisms at national level, which are both responding to essential domestic needs and are an obligation in the process of EU integration for the candidate countries, in the areas of freedom of expression and foreign, security and defense policies of Eu acquis.

The implementation of such a blueprint contributes to the realization of long-term priorities:

• Strengthening the elections integrity through institutional strengthening, instituting mechanisms for monitoring and swift reaction, and protection of citizens from manipulative content on technological platforms.
• Regulation of digital online platforms: Introducing legal framework for algorithm transparency, responsibility for distribution of harmful content and user protection, especially the minors, through urgent harmonization with European Union regulation, primarily the Media Freedom Act and the Digital Services Act.
• Demonetization of disinformation: Stimulating of information integrity through defunding of disinformation sources and inciting of ethical media practices.

The Position Paper Blueprint for Protection of Democracy from Information Threats points to solution in a whole-of-society approach, which implies integrated action by all societal actors to strengthen resilience against information manipulation and foreign influences. The democratic societies in the Balkans region can develop effective resilience to information threats only through systemic, coordinated and long-term approach, providing protection of the citizens’ right to make informed, decisions within a transparent and democratic setting.

Download the position paper here.