Brussels, 3 December 2024
The conference on disinformation, held by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), showcased that a horizontal approach leveraging on citizens in the fight against disinformation is moving in the right direction. The participants also pointed out that regional press can be a role model for big media platforms to rebuild the trust lost with their audiences.
The conference Citizens can defeat disinformation, organised in cooperation with the Greek General Secretariat for Communication and Media on 27 November 2024 in Athens, has been part of the EESC’s project aimed at raising awareness among citizens and engaging them in the fight against disinformation.
It was the third event following successful campaigns in Moldova (Chișinău, April 2024) and Bulgaria (Sofia, June 2023) and brought together representatives of the Greek authorities, of other EU institutions, Greek academics and journalists, as well as social media experts.
Opening the conference, Dimitris Dimitriadis, President of the EESC’s External Relations Section, underlined the importance of the topic, as disinformation has been spreading massively worldwide. ‘The EESC with its initiative is addressing civil society to play a crucial role in combatting fake news, which is multiplied with the misuse of social media and AI’.
Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and representative of the Greek Government, Pavlos Marinakis, stressed that seven out of ten citizens believed in fake news according to official figures, and added that ‘The Greek government, civil society and the European Union must be the guarantor forces safeguarding the protection of free speech, objective information and the truth’.
Recognising the severity of disinformation, Niovi Ringou, from the EU Commission in Athens, talked about the polarisation that fake news brings to our societies, challenging democratic values. She underlined that disinformation has been a major issue in democratic countries because the sources of disinformation take advantage of freedom of speech, organising mechanisms of manipulation.
Mr Andreas Panagopoulos from the Panhellenic Federation of Journalists’ Unions, pointed out that civil society is uniquely positioned to combat disinformation through grassroots initiatives, education, and community engagement, having on its side governments and tech companies.
The participants highlighted the issue of the role of press and media in combatting disinformation, as social media platforms have changed the game radically. Consumption of news is a matter of trust, and this trust is missing between citizens and the big media platforms nowadays.
According to a survey from Reuters Institute for the study of Journalism, only 23% of the Greek population trust the news. Niko Efstathiou, Editor at two of the most popular media in Greece, LifO free press and Kathimerini, said that the death of regional press is also a reason why disinformation has been spreading rapidly.
According to the survey of the Reuters Institute for the study of Journalism, Greek citizens tend to trust the local press especially. This is because local communities know the journalists and they trust their opinion. Regional press could serve as an example and, in order to be in the driver’s seat, it needs funding and support so that it can obtain a dominant role in the fight against fake news and disinformation.
Following the practices of local press, such as building the right partnerships with citizens and civil society, being transparent and open to the audience, big media outlets could regain the trust of their readers. Familiarity and confidence are important elements for citizens when it comes to faith and trust in what they read.
Participants concluded that professionalism, deontology and transparency are the solutions against disinformation in all domains and contexts, from media to civil society, from citizens to politics. These three values are crucial and they are our best defence against the spread of disinformation.
Related bodies
Related links
Downloads
-
- Civil Society and regional press key elements for the fight against disinformation – EN