And this job is not easy. There will always be those who consciously spread disinformation and will try to undermine your work. Of course, debates on the methodology of fact-checking or addressing possible mistakes are always welcomed. But ad-hominem attacks that jeopardize the safety of individuals are unacceptable. And we see that happening, said the Dutch Ambassador Dirk Jan Kop on today’s conference marking International Fact-Checking Day

Author: Goran Rizaov

“It’s our responsibility and the duty of state institutions and all stakeholders to speak out when fact-checkers are threatened and do all we can to provide a safe daily working environment for them”, said the EU Ambassador, David Geer at the opening of the regional conference “Defending Democracy on the Balkans: Safeguarding Information Integrity in the Digital Era” by which the anti-disinformation network on the Balkans marked International Fact-checking Day. “If we abandon this task, we give up the defense of democracy itself”, added Euro-ambassador Geer. 

He stressed that it was vital to help differentiate lies from truth, information from disinformation, genuine differences of views from spinning the facts, or what is being described as, rather sadly, “alternative facts”.  

According to Geer, fact-checkers are also important for uncovering the strategies and techniques used to promote disinformation and thereby help us to become more resilient to manipulation.  

“But in order to fulfill this role, fact-checkers must be allowed to work independently, without political interference, pressure, or intimidation. With the elections approaching here in North Macedonia we have, unfortunately, already witnessed how malign actors are working to exert pressure on the fact-checkers even by abuse and threats of violence, particularly in the online world”, said the Euro-ambassador. 

He reiterated that the Delegation and other partners from the international community had already voiced support for the local fact-checking community in the light of such attacks and the smear campaign that they faced. He also added that this situation, by no means, was unique to North Macedonia where similar threatening violence can be expected.  

“It’s, therefore, our responsibility and the duty of state institutions and all stakeholders to speak out when fact-checkers are threatened, and do all we can to provide a safe daily working environment for them”, said Geer. 

“If we abandon this task, we give up the defense of democracy itself”, he added. 

As he stressed, the EU and the Delegation have very successful and fruitful cooperation with the fact-checking community here in North Macedonia but also in the region and beyond, and they were close allies in ensuring open, rational debate on issues of public importance. 

“You are our partners in countering foreign information manipulation and interference, and you can count on our continuing support”, emphasized the Euro-ambassador congratulating Metamorphosis for the initiative, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands for the support it was providing. 

The Dutch Ambassador, Dirk Jan Kop, on the other hand, pointed out that the support for the project “Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub: Exposing Malign Influences through Watchdog Journalism” started in November 2021, just a few months before the Russian Federation started its brutal war of aggression in Ukraine.  

“At that time, we did not anticipate the plethora of misinformation and disinformation that was about to come to this region. However, we were pleased to support an innovative data-driven initiative that brought together journalists, analysts, and activists with one common goal: providing truthful and trusted sources of information. Two years later, we see that we have made the right choice”, said Jan Kop. 

As he stressed, in a democratic society there was a need for a free and open public debate which would help the people make important decisions. However, while there is a need to identify the disinformation that is polluting the public debate, free speech and diversity of opinion should not be suppressed.

“People should feel free to state their opinions, no matter how much we disagree with them, no matter whether we find these opinions biased or even shocking”, said Jan Kop. 

He reiterated that it should be clear that an invaluable right was to state your opinion and it was especially important for the governments that try to interfere and direct the public debate in the pretense of countering disinformation.  

But he also stressed that there was a difference between an opinion and a fact. And that was where the role of independent fact-checkers really made a difference. Proper detection of false information was the first and essential step in countering disinformation and promoting the integrity of information disseminated online.  

“And this job is not easy. There will always be those that consciously spread disinformation and will try to undermine your work. Of course, debates on the methodology of fact-checking or addressing possible mistakes are always welcomed. But ad-hominem attacks that jeopardize the safety of individuals are unacceptable”, said Jan Kop.  

Finally, he pointed out that fact-checking was the first and most important step, but it needed to go hand in hand with measures to improve media literacy and public resilience. 

“We can’t prevent malicious actors who spread disinformation, but citizens should be ready to approach information with a healthy dose of skepticism and be able to make assessments based on facts before they form an opinion”, concluded Ambassador Jan Kop.