The Media Development Centre, with the aim to assist the journalists in North Macedonia to deal with the pressures of the new, chaotic information eco-system, prepared a translation of the “Verification Handbook for Disinformation and Media Manipulation” in Macedonian and Albanian languages. The translation of the Handbook, publication of the European Journalism Centre, was prepared under the auspices of the project “Pre-publication fact-checking in the fight against disinformation”, implemented with support from the U.S. Embassy in Skopje.

All ethical codes and professional standards of journalism state that journalists have obligation to publish only verified and proven information. The new information eco-system, in which everyone can be publisher and can engage in public information – but also disinformation, makes that task difficult to fulfil. While we may not like it, the same access to cheap and easy to use platforms is available also to those who don’t like the political or value system in which we live and work.

Pressured by the 24-news cycle, the need to be quick and publish first, the need to publish that material that will attract most views and clicks (in order to monetize it), journalists can find themselves in a situation to become unwilling and unwitting assistants and accomplices to those who wish to undermine our political or value systems or even those that are only interested to sell us some miraculous “snake oil” ointments and medicine.

In North Macedonia, due to the fragmented media scene with huge number of small newsrooms, without human or financial resources to invest in adequate networks of correspondents, reporting of many topics, especially foreign affairs and geopolitics relies on republication of news and contents from the internet. Skillful malignant actors can and use that opportunity to place malignant information, disinformation and propaganda to the Macedonian public.

As noted by Craig Silverman, the editor of the Handbook, it aims to “provide guidance on how to execute investigations of digital media manipulation, disinformation and information operations”.

The Handbook also aims to equip journalists with the skills and techniques necessary to be able to help the public to get accurate and trustworthy information in the new complex digital world driven by data.

The Handbook can be alto useful to those citizens who want to check for themselves whether what they read on the web was true or not, and whether the contents they consumed comes from a trustworthy and reliable media outlet.

The Macedonian and Albanian language translations of the Handbook are attached to this article. The translations will be also available on the website of the European Journalism Centre – www.ejc.net.

Прирачник за верификација за дезинформации и медиумски манипулации

Doracak i verifikimit Për dezinformata dhe manipulime mediatike