The European Commission Representation in Croatia said the Croatian model of establishing a system for checking the accuracy of information in the public space and its fact-checker network relevant to every EU country, noting that it is the only such project financed by the Next Generation EU instrument.

As part of the project for the establishment of information accuracy checks, public tenders were completed at the beginning of May, to which associations and scientific and educational institutions interested in fact-checking, as well as appraisers of applications for the part of the project for which almost four million non-reimbursable euros were allocated, could apply.

Deputy head of the EC Representation and head of the media department Andrea Čović Vidovićt old Hina in an interview that the European Commission welcomes this initiative of the Ministry of Culture and Media and the Agency for Electronic Media (AEM).

“As far as we know, it is the only thematic project in the European Union that is financed from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, namely the Next Generation EU instrument. The goals of the project are in line with what the European Commission insists on when we talk about media and social media, and they are certainly relevant for every member state”, said Čović Vidović.

She emphasized that the European Commission welcomes the project’s focus on combating misinformation and fake news in the public space, safety when consuming media content, but also on strengthening credible media coverage and media literacy.

Strengthening the media’s resistance to misinformation

In addition, as stated in the project tender, the idea is to strengthen the capacities and competencies of existing information checkers through the project, establish new independent fact-checkers, but also the system and procedure of fact-checking in media newsrooms in order to make the media resistant to misinformation.

“The dimension of the invitation, which refers to the encouragement and creation of media content on the topic of fighting against disinformation, is important in terms of communication and certainly commendable,” Čović Vidović said.

She added that on behalf of the European Commission, she cannot comment on the specific project dynamics of the aforementioned public tender for the establishment of a national network of fact-checkers. But on the other hand, he can once again welcome the initiative because it is a reflection of the Commission’s efforts to strengthen the member states in their readiness to fight against foreign interference and the fight against hybrid threats.

“The European Commission is committed to protecting societies, citizens and freedoms from hybrid threats, including misinformation and misinformation. We want to encourage the member states to detect, prevent and suppress all such attacks, while at the same time strengthening their resistance to these threats. At the level of the European Union, in this context, we must not allow nothing to be done about misinformation and disinformation,” she emphasised.

She added that in the digital dimension, the most active fight against fake news and misinformation is by creating accurate and precise informational content.

Demystify false and offer true information

“Precisely on social networks we have a unique opportunity for that and the best reach. Through communication on social networks, we often come across user comments in which unverified misinformation is presented, and quite often they actually spread fake news. In these cases, our task is the so-called debunking – to demystify fakes and offer accurate and true information to those users, as well as to everyone who sees user comments,” she added.

As part of this, she also announced a workshop on 15 June at the House of Europe in Zagreb, where the importance of digital literacy in the fight against fake news and misinformation will be discussed. The target group is media representatives who work on the social networks of media newsrooms, and the desire is to start a conversation about social responsibility when it comes to this topic, and especially about protecting the young audience from manipulation of information, she emphasized.

Čović Vidović also referred to the recent speech of EC Vice-President Vera Jourova, who expressed her doubt that numerous lawsuits against media and journalists in Croatia can be subsumed under strategic lawsuits directed against public participation (SLAPP lawsuits).

“No member state is immune to strategic lawsuits against public participation. A more detailed report on the state of the media in the member states for 2023 will be presented as part of the Commission’s regular report on the rule of law, which is published halfway through the year. The report will provide information on the current estimated state of SLAPP lawsuits in all member states, including in Croatia,” said Čović Vidović.

The EU has a lot of work to do in precisely defining SLAPP

She also assessed that the European Union still has a lot of work to do in precisely defining SLAPP. He reminds that through the proposal of the SLAPP directive presented by the EC last year, the training of legal experts and potential defendants in strategic lawsuits against public participation is particularly emphasized in order to improve the knowledge necessary for successful action in such court proceedings. The European network for judicial training should ensure coordination and dissemination of information in all member states, she concluded.

On the eve of the announced adoption of the European Act on Freedom of the Media, she referred to the provisions that could improve the media scene in Croatia.

“The European Act on Media Freedom, whose proposal was presented by the European Commission in September 2022, includes rules for the protection of media pluralism and independence in the European Union. It includes protection measures against political interference in editorial decisions and supervision, and at its core is the independence and stable financing of public media, as well as the transparency of media ownership and the distribution of state advertising. It establishes measures to protect the independence of editors and reveal conflicts of interest”.

She added that this act will also solve the issue of media concentration and establish a new independent European Committee for Media Services composed of national media bodies and ensure that public and private media can more easily operate across borders in the EU internal market without undue pressure and taking taking into account the digital transformation of the media space.

“All these are important issues for every member state of the Union, including Croatia. It is now up to the European Parliament and the member states to discuss the Commission’s proposal within the framework of the regular legislative procedure. After its adoption, this regulation will be directly applied throughout the European Union, including in Croatia,” she concluded.