Main disinformation narrative in February: The West started the war in Ukraine, Russia resorted to force to stop it
The main disinformation narrative in February in the Macedonian media space was proclaimed by the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, just three days before marking the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He reversed the “mirror” and de facto said that...
Wagner recruitment of volunteers in the region neither confirmed, nor denied
The paramilitary group Wagner, by means of a paid announcement on 5th January on Russia Today Balkan in Serbian language, called for all potential volunteers from Serbia to join the war in Ukraine, writes Truthmeter.mk.
Under the content-sharing agreement between Truthmeter.mk and Meta.mk, we republish...
Military service is voluntary for women in Ukraine
The post disinforms that NATO is pushing Ukraine to fight to the last Ukrainian. This narrative undermines thousands of soldiers in Ukraine, including patriotic defence actions carried out to defend themselves from Russian aggression. It is not true that no more men are left...
Romanian anti-disinformation activist reveals: Misinformation campaigns often target refugees from Ukraine
While disinformation campaigns flood Central and Eastern Europe, civil society organizations are at the forefront of initiatives to face this challenge. Meta.mk spoke to Ina Danila, Project Manager at Funky Citizens, a Romanian organization working on fact-checking and disinformation resilience, about the current situation...
The West did not mislead Russia and Ukraine to go to war at their own peril, but Ukraine is defending itself against Russian aggression
Ukraine and Russia are not “mislead by the West to go to war at their own peril”, as the post claims, but Ukraine as a sovereign state, recognized member of the UN is a victim of the aggression of neighbouring Russia for officially annexing...
Turkey did not decide to leave NATO and the consulates were not closed because of the earthquake
We assess the post fact-checked as untrue. It is not true to claim that the earthquake was a geologically produced attack, that the diplomats were withdrawn due to the earthquake and that Turkey decided to leave NATO. As far as the false claims related...
Selective reporting regarding the investigation of the Independent International Commission on Ukraine
In the articles of some media about the report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry for Ukraine, the cases of war crimes committed by the Russian armed forces in Ukraine were completely omitted, and only the cases committed by Ukraine were presented.
On October...
Russia has not declared the dollar an invalid payment currency
The claim that Russia declared the Dollar invalid payment currency is out of context. There is lack of Dollars in cash in Russia hence the limit of Dollars that one can withdraw from the banks. Otherwise, in Russia, even before the military invasion, the...
The state of online free expression worldwide in 2022
"From internet shutdowns, crackdowns on expression and closed-door partnerships to attempts to restrict anonymity and end to end encryption, in many places, digital rights are under threat," writes IFEX.org in this article republished by Meta.mk. This statement was originally published by the IFEX member Electronic...
Russian spies register identifies 42 individuals arrested for espionage in Europe
A register of Russian spies in Europe, shared on Twitter, identifies 42 individuals acting in their own countries and being paid by the Russian Federation. This register was produced on the basis of the open data and information related to arrests or proceedings of...
(In)visible “Russian touch” in the last round of tensions between Sofia and Skopje
Although there are more variations of the topic related to where the Russian influence was greater in the latest escalations of the relations between North Macedonia and Bulgaria, more serious sources agree quite distinctively that it is there. No doubt, many information and disinformation...
The promise of Mayor Boban Stefkovski to build a sports center in Vardarishte is unfulfilled
The scattered waste at Vardarishte, photograph taken on 9th January 2023 by Meta.mk
The current Mayor of Gazi Baba municipality, Boban Stefkovski, in his electoral campaign for the local elections that took place in October 2021, promised a cleanup of former Skopje’s landfill Vardarishte and...
The promise to clean up landfills in Eastern and Northeastern regions of North Macedonia is on the slow track
The Kumanovo landfill “Krasta” is one of the locations that should be rehabilitated, and turned into a waste transfer station, with a special new biological waste composting plant. Photo: Meta.mk
From 2020 to date, the cleaning of the unstandardized municipal landfills and solid waste illegal...
City of Skopje did not provide free menstrual products in the secondary schools
Photo:Mehrpouya H on Unsplash
At the end of December last year the Council of the City of Skopje, acting upon the amendment proposed by Councilor Teodora Krstevska, voted for an allotment of MKD 2 000 000 from the city budget for free menstruаl products for...
The construction of the 5G network brings the demise of the Chinese domination in North Macedonia’s telecommunications
“Makedonski Telekom” (Macedonian Telecom) and “A1 Makedonija” (A1 Macedonia) telecoms are currently modernizing their complete mobile telephony infrastructure and working on the implementation of their 5G networks in North Macedonia. Unlike all the previous instances of a technological makeover, North Macedonia as a member...
We are still waiting for government subsidies for hybrid and electric vehicles
Electric vehicle charger in Skopje; Photo: Meta.mk's photo archive
North Macedonia’s budget for 2023 does not provide financial resources for subsidies to the purchase of hybrid and electric vehicles, although such a promise was made by the Macedonian government at the end of 2018. On...
“E-Society.mk”: The fight against disinformation requires transparent institutions, active media and civil society efforts
(This content is a translation of the original article in Macedonian, published on the 7th of December 2022)
To minimize the negative effects of disinformation on democracy, we must jointly fight it. For that to happen, the institutions must be transparent and the media and...
The high school students in Skopje did not get the promised tablets, the procedure is ongoing
Photo: Hal Gatewood, Unsplash
The Mayor of the City of Skopje, Danela Arsovska, in her electoral “Manifesto for Modern Skopje” promised that all high school students and teachers will receive tablet computers, as well as training for the teachers on the use of the equipment....
Minister Bekteshi’s promise to ban the import of vehicles below EURO 5 standard is unfulfilled
(This content is a translation of the original article in Macedonian, published on the 6th of December 2022)
The statement of Kreshnik Bekteshi, the Minister of Economy of North Macedonia, given at the end of January 2021 that by the end of the last year...
WHY IS IT (NOT) SO?: Myths and disinformation about the Comprehensive sexual education in North Macedonia
Sexual education in schools is one of the most discussed topics in North Macedonia. Until recently in the country, just the word “sex” was considered taboo. Adolescence is a period in life when people go through big physical, psychological, emotional and personality changes, that...
