The Phenomenon of Fake News Discussed at the Round Table on Parliamentary Oversight in the Context of Information Security

The Republic of Moldova needs to develop its institutional capacities to combat the phenomenon of fake news and involve scientific researchers more actively in the field of information security. These are some of the recommendations made by media experts during the round table on parliamentary oversight in the context of information security held in Chisinau on 23 February. The event was organised by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) jointly with the Information and Documentation Centre of NATO (IDC NATO) in Republic of Moldova. MPs, media experts, security experts, representatives of civil society attended the round table and expressed their views on the development of a new draft of the Information Security Concept.

During the discussions, the Executive Director of the Independent Press Association (API), Petru Macovei referred to the fake news and state’s low capacities to combat such phenomena. The expert pointed out that fake news may lead to panic and high risks among the those people who get informed from such news and tend to consider them trustful. ‘We have a new job in the Republic of Moldova – fake news creator. Those dealing “professionally’’ with these fake news have also invented a name for this – fake news creator, as fashion creators (...) We consider that these are the realities and challenges of the present day in the Republic of Moldova, with which public institutions fail to deal, but should not to’, pointed out Mr Macovei.

According to the expert, publishing fake news by websites should be deemed as cybercrime, without prejudice to the right to freedom of speech and without abuses in this respect. ‘We definitely can identify mechanisms to lessen the fake news phenomenon that has a direct impact on the state’s informational security, by having a direct impact on citizens’ right to information. The Republic of Moldova should think about this.’, added Petru Macovei.

He affirms that civil society could get involved more actively in combating this phenomenon to ensure that experts’ recommendations are included in the future draft of the Information Security Concept and Strategy.

While attending the round table, APEL Executive Director, Ion Bunduchi, pointed out several issues related to information security, which require a more responsible approach from authorities and society in general.   The lack of research on information security is one of them. ‘Two or three years ago, only one PhD thesis treated this topic. In fact, it didn’t deal with media security, but with information security. Out of an army of scientists, only one PhD treated this topic. Too few!’, noticed Mr Bunduchi.

The expert also referred to the massive presence of Russian media institutions in the Moldovan information space - both TV channels, which constitute up to 80% of offers in the packages of cable companies, and the Russian language print media. At the same time, Mr Bunduchi referred to the artistic films and the series broadcast by the Moldovan TV channels, which are predominantly of Russian origin and promote certain behavioral models among media consumers. Another aspect that, in his view, needs to be remedied is the advertising market, which must not allow unfair competition in this segment.

At the round table held in the Parliament, representatives of international NGOs such as Internews and Freedom House that follow closely the phenomena taking place in the media area of ​​the Republic of Moldova and support positive developments in the media were present and proposed some recommendations. According to Corina Cepoi, Director of the Internews Representative Office in Moldova, as regards information security, our country should follow the example of the Baltic states and participate more actively in people’s media education.