The lectures and the rountable presented the findings of the BIRN Albania’s newest study on disinformation narratives against NATO and the EU from hostile states, which was funded by the Open Information Partnership.
The lectures were attended by 88 students, while 30 stakeholders from the fields of journalism, media, research, and civil society participated in the rountable held in Tirana.
As part of the study, BIRN Albania monitored more tha 196,000 news articles from 36 Albanian media outlets over a one-year period (May 2023 to May 2024) to identify anti-NATO and anti-EU narratives.
The lectures were held at the European University of Tirana, Beder University and Luigj Gurakuqi University in Shkodra. The rountble was held on October 18 in Tirana.
During the roundtable, Besar Likmeta, Editor-in-Chief of BIRN Albania, shared the findings on the main narratives against NATO and the EU that were most often repeated in the monitored media.
He emphasized that these narratives include claims that NATO is an expansionist organisation pursuing an agenda to destabilize the Balkans, that the EU is divided and unable to protect its citizens, and that the West supports elites at the expense of the people. Likmeta also presented several common features that help distinguish disinformation articles from credible reporting.
Meanwhile, Viola Keta, a journalist and co-author of the study, discussed some of the challenges in reporting news related to NATO, the EU, and related topics, along with recommendations identified during interviews with media managers, editors, journalists, and social media managers from some news media in Albania.
At the end of the events, participants expressed their concerns about disinformation narratives and discussed possible future steps to counter them.