“inforMD – against disinformation in the Republic of Moldova”

Implementation period: April – December 2021.

General context: The Republic of Moldova, similar to many other European countries remains highly vulnerable to disinformation, which can be particularly observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Domestic and international actors contribute to the spread of fake news and truncated messages both via social media and mass media. The European Parliament consequently called on the Moldovan authorities to make efforts to strengthen resilience against disinformation and manipulation of information both online and offline. Civil society has a crucial role to play in improving resilience of the information sphere. Against this background, the inforMD project aims to contribute to strengthening resilience against disinformation in the Republic of Moldova with capacity building measures for civil society. In addition, the project will focus on the mutual exchange of experience and expertise with Germany and other EU countries as well as the EaP countries.

Project objectives:

• The promotion of civil society expertise and networking within the Republic of Moldova and the development of a joint analysis and advocacy strategy to improve the regulatory framework against disinformation.
• The empowerment of young people (university students) in the Republic of Moldova to identify, deal with and react to disinformation and to promote critical thinking (capacity building and multiplier education).
• The timely response to disinformation campaigns (with fact checks, statements in social media, television) concerning, inter alia, the policies of the EU and its Member States.
• The promotion of civil society exchange on the topic with Germany and other EU member states as well as the countries of the Eastern Partnership.

The project “inforMD – against disinformation in the Republic of Moldova” was implemented with the kind support of the German Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt).