From inbox to front page: How the media fuels hate speech
The Deputy PM for Good Governance Policies, Arben Fetai, announced on his Facebook profile that he received a death threat on his official email. In less than half a day, media outlets reported on his status along with hate speech comments in the headlines...
Legislative changes affecting primary and secondary education leave space for discrimination, experts warn
The Network for Protection Against Discrimination (NPAD) issued a written reaction last week expressing concern over the possibility of adoption of the draft laws for primary and secondary education which, according to them, would mean backsliding rather than progress in the protection of students...
Pyysalo: Western Balkans EU integration would undermine the overall Russian objective
Disinformation and psychological interference, cyber-attacks, emerging disruptive technologies, sabotage, election interference, economic interference, instrumentalization of migration – these are just part of the issues the Hybrid Center of Excellence at countering hybrid threats is dealing with. The Head of International relations at the Hybrid...
Hate speech and ethnic divisions in an anti-Albanian campaign on social networks
The reason for inciting this campaign on social networks is a post on Facebook from a suspicious closed account, in which the author, without giving further details, says that at the cash register in the “Kipper” market in Gjorce Petrov, the saleswoman refused to...
25 new cases of pertussis in a week in North Macedonia, mostly unvaccinated babies
During the week ending September 5, 25 new cases of whooping cough or pertussis had been reported in North Macedonia, which is a 47.1 percent increase compared to the previous seven-day period, the Institute of Public Health of the Republic of North Macedonia announced....
Outdated recruitment efforts by the Embassy of Ukraine in Skopje misused against NATO
A Facebook post lacks context due to the fact that it does not clarify that the Embassy of Ukraine in Skopje’s announcement of the recruitment effort is not new and active, but outdated, and that it was followed by a statement from the Ministry...
Macedonian and Serbian media used the incident with President Osmani to incite hate speech on ethnic grounds
On the 1st of August 2024, the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, was involved in a diplomatic incident at Skopje International Airport. This incident sparked a lot of controversy in the media and received particularly strong reactions and hate speech from both Macedonian and...
Music and Hatred: How a Song Caused Ethnic Tensions at a Student Party in Skopje
A student party in Skopje this spring took an unexpected turn when playing an Albanian song towards the end of the event sparked controversy and hate speech on social media. Despite the organization’s inclusive nature, which includes members from diverse ethnic backgrounds, a nationalist...
Parties vaguely mentioned the fight against disinformation in their manifestos
The European Commission has already stressed the issue of harmful foreign influence that penetrates and erodes democratic processes, yet not all political parties in our country recognize this problem in their election manifestos. All those that did recognize disinformation and harmful foreign influence, lacked...
Public оpinion in N. Macedonia regarding the war in Ukraine is deeply divided
The citizens of North Macedonia regarding the war in Ukraine have significantly divided opinions about at least two issues – who is to blame for the war and which side of the military conflict they support. The latest IRI survey of the Western Balkan...
Regional landfill in Sveti Nikole: why should it be European, when it can be illegal
Sixteen non-standard municipal landfills and dozens of illegal dumps full of all sorts of waste, without a fence or protection, scattered almost near every inhabited area, in the rivers, beside agricultural plots, roads, or forests, is the truthful image of the Eastern and North-Eastern...
How did Sputnik – the Kremlin’s mouthpiece – report on the Macedonian elections?
Two leitmotivs were part of most analyses and articles related to the elections in North Macedonia, seen through the prism of pro-Russian Sputnik. The first is that foreigners are pressing North Macedonia, and the second is that the pressure exerted came from the Albanians....
Did Siljanovska Davkova violate the Prespa Agreement? International Community reacts to her speech
International public and some of the domestic political actors issued public reactions after the new president Gordana Siljanovska Davkova failed to utter the constitutional name of the state during her inauguration on the May 12. They consider this act as violation of the Prespa...
When medical students apologize – the impact of the anti-gender movement in the public sphere
In April 2024, the Macedonian Medical Student Association (MMSA) announced on Facebook that the Faculty of Medicine of the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University (UKIM) in Skopje will host a lecture titled “The Path of Transitioning.” According to the post, the lecture was supposed...
(INTERVIEW) Nikolovski: Russian Church Players in MOC-OA Imposed Fake Public Topics
Three months have passed since the public found out that Marjan Nikolovski, editor, journalist, and owner of the portal “Religija.mk” was summoned by the Ecclesiastical Court of Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid (MOC-OA) for his alleged dissemination of hatred among believers and the leadership...
Disinformation Is Not a Problem Only for the Media; It Is Also a Security Problem
Apart from internal, the Balkan region is exposed to external influences where disinformation is concerned but denying that disinformation is key for the protection of democracy. This was the conclusion of the first session of today’s conference “Defending Democracy in the Balkans: Safeguarding Information...
Disinformation Undermines the Foundation of Democracy – Fact-Checking is the Key
We need to become more aware of disinformation in our physical and digital worlds. Disinformation undermines trust in institutions, and therefore permanent fight against various actors who spread it is required, with fact-checkers playing the most important role.
These were the conclusions from today's conference...
Disinformation surrounding the project of the first regional landfill: Neither medical nor hazardous waste will be incinerated in Sveti Nikole
No type of waste will be burnt in the regional landfill in village Meckuevci in the Municipality Sveti Nikole. The facility, that should represent the first landfill fulfilling European standards in the country, will have just two installations for secondary selection of paper, plastic,...
Without the support of fact-checkers we give up defending democracy
P“It’s our responsibility and the duty of state institutions and all stakeholders to speak out when fact-checkers are threatened and do all we can to provide a safe daily working environment for them”, said the EU Ambassador, David Geer at the opening of the...
International Fact-Checking Day marked with regional Conference – Defending Democracy in the Balkans: Safeguarding Information Integrity in the Digital Era
On April 2, International Fact-Checking Day, the Metamorphosis Foundation and the Anti-Disinformation for the Balkans organized a Regional Conference on the topic: “Defending Democracy in the Balkans: Safeguarding Information Integrity in the Digital Era”.
The conference was attended by experts from the region and beyond...
