Policy Brief No. 6/2024 – Information resilience at the grassroots level in the Republic of Moldova

Author: Alina DOROFTEI

In the Republic of Moldova, combating disinformation and countering foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) are mainly the responsibility of the central level, while resilience at the local level is supported more by civil society and media initiatives. To strengthen information resilience in communities, an approach focused on combating disinformation, promoting critical thinking, media literacy and local media development is needed. Due to the Russian Federation’s hybrid attacks against the Republic of Moldova, Chisinau must ensure a minimum level of awareness on FIMI. Without it, strengthening information resilience will be incomplete and ineffective.

Although local authorities enjoy the highest level of trust in the Republic of Moldova, after the church, according to a July 2024 survey, their involvement in increasing information resilience is often sporadic, mainly oriented towards political communication or depending on ideological and geopolitical orientation. On the other hand, other local actors, such as media, NGOs, schools and libraries, are more active in implementing media literacy projects and combating disinformation.