The Agency for Electronic Media (AEM) on Friday presented a project on the establishment of media fact-checking and public data publication system, worth HRK 45 million (€6m), to strengthen society's resistance to misinformation and improve the quality of journalism and reporting.

European Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography Dubravka Suica assessed this project as a significant step forward for Croatia’s further development of democracy and media freedom.

Minister of Culture and Media Nina Obuljen-Korzinek underscored that the project was included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) at the ministry’s initiative and will be implemented by AEM in cooperation with numerous partners.

“We are talking about HRK 45 million earmarked to combat false information and the establishment of fact-checking, and HRK 5 million from which we will finance the system of public disclosure of ownership and other information about the media,” said the minister.

She underlined that the fight against fake news, and the encouragement of professional journalism, is the topic of all European countries and European democracy.

The problem of fake news is huge, Obuljen-Korzinek said, and it is all the more pronounced in moments of crisis – from the COVID pandemic to Russian systems that disseminate misinformation about the brutal aggression against Ukraine.

“The goal of the project is not to punish anyone but to encourage systems that, by verifying information and investing in professional journalism, will strengthen our democracy and media system,” said the minister.

The director of AEM, Josip Popovac, emphasised the exceptional importance of the project, which is being conducted by an independent media regulator, evaluating it as a pioneering project on a European scale.

A public call will be advertised for grant distribution for establishing an independent network of fact-checkers as part of the NRRP.

The AEM is an independent regulatory body that promotes public interest and media pluralism, justifies public trust through professional and transparent activities, encourages media literacy, creates conditions for the production of quality Croatian audiovisual content and ensures equal conditions for media development and media freedom, the agency says on its web site.