20th Frankfurt Days on Media Law – Strategies against Disinformation and Propaganda - Media Programme Southeast Europe
Disinformation and propaganda have the potential to destroy trust, exacerbate social division and hinder political engagement. In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine have intensified disinformation campaigns. In response to this challenge, several states have developed strategies to tackle the problem. The European Union has introduced important regulations, including the Digital Services Act, and is actively working on other initiatives such as the Media Freedom Act. Democratic societies need to develop strategies to combat the spread of disinformation and propaganda while upholding the principles of freedom of expression and independent journalism.
The conference was opened by Christoph Plate, Director of the Media Programme South East Europe, Prof. Dr. Johannes Weberling, European University Viadrina, and Prof. Dr. Claudia Weber, from the Südosteuropa Gesellschaft. The first day of the event provided a general introduction to the topic. Dr Pavel Usvatov, Director of the KAS Rule of Law Programme South East Europe, presented the most important legal definitions in this area and thus provided the framework for the subsequent discussions. Justine Limpitlaw, an expert in communications law at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, provided insights into the importance of comparative analysis of media law of Sub-Saharan countries. Together with Ferdinand Gehringer, Expert Advisor on Internal and Cyber Security at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, she also discussed global disinformation and propaganda strategies.
Later the conference focussed on new technologies and artificial intelligence. The first topic discussed was "Deepfakes, Bots, and Biases: AI's Role in Shaping and Combat Disinformation". Dr Rakoen Maertens, an expert in behavioural science and counter-disinformation from the University of Oxford, presented the psychology of the digital spread of disinformation. Dr Christopher Nehring, Guest Lecturer at the University of Sofia, dealt with the latest forms of digital disinformation. The next panel followed as a natural continuation with the topic "Digital listening and AI against disinformation campaigns". Together with Dr. Maertens and Dr. Nehring, Prof. Dr Martin Grothe, Managing Director of Complexium GmbH in Berlin, explained how digital technologies can be used to detect and combat disinformation. The first day of the conference concluded with a discussion on "Fact check to expose disinformation" with Claus Liesegang and Beate Bias, editor-in-chief and deputy editor-in-chief of the Märkische Oderzeitung/Lausitzer Rundschau/Oranienburger Generalanzeiger respectively. The second day of the conference focussed on the situation in south-eastern Europe. Divided into two panels, Alexander Kachamov from Bulgaria, Codruta Simina from Romania, Hyrije Mehmeti from Kosovo, Orest Dabija from Moldova and Dragan Sekulovski from North Macedonia presented the situation in their respective countries.
To conclude, Prof. Dr Johannes Weberling summarised the most important content of the discussions during the conference. He emphasised the importance of strategies against disinformation and propaganda - especially in times of their rapid spread.
