A new study by BIRN Albania that analyzed more than 193,000 articles in 36 Albanian-language news portals reveals how, even in a strongly pro-NATO and pro-EU country, the disinformation narratives of malign foreign actors can penetrate media that have not developed strong editorial procedures and controls.
Research carried by two media experts on behalf of BIRN Albania on disinformation campaigns or narratives by foreign malign forces concluded that such narratives have been present in the Albanian language media environment over the last year, mainly through cracks in editorial procedures amid a myriad of online media outlets, both big and small, although overall the matter is not considered highly problematic.
Distribution of Disinformation Narratives Against NATO and the EU from Adversary Actors in Albanian Media was presented to the public on Friday.
The researchers, Emiljano Kaziaj and Viola Keta, noted that although Albania remains highly pro-NATO and pro-EU, hostile narratives spread by foreign forces can penetrate the media due to several factors, among which the most important seems to be the fragmented nature of the online media landscape,. with many news outlets operating on skeleton editorial staffs eager to get clicks without thinking about what they are publishing.
A copy-pasting culture that emphasizes getting anything possible on the website and with little or no original reporting creates opportunities for the distribution of disinformation narratives that usually aim to justify Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, portray NATO as a malign force that “provoked” Russia into war, or present the EU as an obsolete and divided structure.
Out of 193,000 news posts identified as related to NATO and the EU published across 36 online media outlets, some 15,177 contained information or points of view from the adversary actors, such as Russia, China or far-right politicians. Researchers interviewed journalists, editors and experts to get an insider view on the matter.
“From the point of view of the journalists and experts interviewed, anti-NATO and anti-EU disinformation does not yet pose a direct threat to the country’s politics or the political and social stability of Albania,” the researchers note.
“This however is a matter that needs to be kept under observation due to the ease with which fake news and or disinformation narratives can spread in an era of online platforms and social media news distribution,” they note.
Disinformation narratives often penetrate the Albanian media from the copy-pasting practice exercised by most online outlets, which, among thousands of news items that they copy from anywhere, also get news that is designed to spread a disinformation narrative.
“Among disinformation narratives, those that portray the European Union and NATO as sinister and expansive organisations with damaging policies against Russia and other countries, and with an agenda for exploitation of people and resources, are the most common,” the researchers note.
“Typically, narratives that target minority groups, such as refugees, LGBTQ or other vulnerable communities, can be detected as originating from the Kremlin, which aims to portray them as a threat to traditional values and as a sign of the degeneration of morals and of perversion,” they add.
The threat of all-out nuclear war between Russia and the West was the most effective disinformation narrative spread in the Albanian media, judged by the number of interactions that this type of news received in social media posts.
The researchers concluded that a lack of financial resources for independent reporting on crises or wars abroad, or on multinational bodies such as NATO and the European Union, are factors that push media to rely on other sources, such as state-owned foreign media that often provide services in Albanian, or use automatic translation to provide free content.
Full report in Albanian can be downloaded here.
Full report in English can be downloaded here.
