The training aimed to empower students with the knowledge and tools they need to identify and combat disinformation, particularly narratives originating from Russia and China, and religious ideologies.
The training tackled the complex nature of disinformation. The first session focused on foreign influence, specifically Russian and Chinese disinformation, and the second addressed religious-based misinformation that often targets vulnerable communities in Kosovo.
Visar Prebreza, from BIRN Kosovo, led the discussion on Russian and Chinese disinformation. He provided a deep dive into how foreign powers, especially Kremlin-led and Chinese state-controlled media, have disseminated misleading narratives that affect local perceptions in Kosovo.
Prebreza highlighted the challenges that Kosovo’s media face when addressing such disinformation. He walked participants through the key elements of identifying false narratives and offered real-world examples of how these tactics play out in the Kosovo media landscape.
Skënder Perteshi, from KCSS, led the second session, on how extremist religious groups use disinformation as a tool to spread radical ideologies.
In his presentation, he outlined the various strategies these groups use, including targeting specific audiences with narratives designed to undermine secularism, democracy and the rule of law in Kosovo.
He also explored the broader strategic goals of radical religious actors and how their disinformation campaigns aim to divide communities.
The session concluded with practical advice on how to build positive counter-narratives to disinformation and promote unity.
The training allowed the students to engage directly with experts and discuss the role of media literacy in defending against disinformation.
Prebreza and Perteshi both emphasized the importance of youth involvement in creating resilient communities capable of identifying and responding to misleading information.
This training was held by BIRN Kosovo and KCSS within the project “Increasing public awareness on Russian, Chinese influence and religious disinformation and equipping media students and journalists with the necessary tools to identify, analyze, and combat disinformation”, supported through the Digital Activism Program by TechSoup Global.