About CIVIL Today

CIVIL Today is the English-language media platform of CIVIL – Center for Freedom, developed and operated within its media and publishing unit, CIVIL MEDIA. It is dedicated to independent journalism, analysis, and public-interest reporting with a particular focus on disinformation, propaganda, hybrid threats, and authoritarian influence, as well as on democracy, human rights, media freedom, and freedom of expression.

The platform publishes original reporting, expert analysis, commentary, interviews, and multimedia content addressing political, social, technological, and geopolitical developments in Europe, the Western Balkans, and beyond. CIVIL Today serves as a bridge between local and regional realities and international policy, academic, and civil society debates, providing context-rich, evidence-based perspectives for an international audience.

A core editorial priority of CIVIL Today is the systematic coverage and analysis of disinformation campaigns, information manipulation, far-right and authoritarian narratives, and hybrid operations targeting democratic societies. The platform also places strong emphasis on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and on the broader patterns of foreign interference and coercive influence that accompany it.

CIVIL Today prominently covers the role of technology — in particular artificial intelligence — in politics, media, warfare, and society. It examines how AI is reshaping information ecosystems, propaganda, surveillance, and power relations, and what this means for democracy, rights, and public trust.

At the same time, CIVIL Today serves as a platform for dialogue among journalists, researchers, policymakers, and civil society actors, offering space for informed exchange and amplifying credible, independent voices across borders.

CIVIL Today is committed to editorial independence, factual accuracy, and ethical journalism. It seeks to contribute to informed public debate, democratic accountability, and societal resilience by exposing manipulation and propaganda, strengthening media literacy, and supporting open, pluralistic, and democratic societies.

About CIVIL MEDIA

CIVIL MEDIA is the media and publishing platform of CIVIL – Center for Freedom, a human rights and democracy-focused civil society organization established in 1999. Registered as an organizational unit in 2009, CIVIL MEDIA was created to strengthen independent journalism, protect freedom of expression, and contribute to the development of a free, professional, and responsible media environment.

CIVIL MEDIA operates as a multilingual, nonprofit news and media production platform, publishing original journalism, analysis, commentary, and multimedia content across multiple languages and formats. Its work focuses on public-interest reporting, democratic accountability, human rights, media freedom, and the protection of civic space, with particular attention to disinformation, authoritarian influence, and hybrid threats.

In addition to publishing, CIVIL MEDIA is actively engaged in training, capacity building, and professional development for journalists, editors, and media practitioners. Through workshops, mentoring, international cooperation, and partnerships with civil society and media organizations, it supports the growth of independent media and strengthens resilience against censorship, political pressure, disinformation, and other threats to free and ethical journalism.

CIVIL MEDIA’s mission is to contribute to an informed public, to safeguard freedom of expression and media freedom, and to support democratic values by enabling independent, responsible, and courageous journalism.

CIVIL MEDIA internet portals

 

 

About CIVIL

CIVIL – Center for Freedom is an independent, non-profit civil society organization dedicated to defending democracy, protecting human rights and freedoms, and strengthening democratic resilience in the face of authoritarianism, disinformation, and hybrid threats.

Founded in 1999 and developed through more than 26 years of continuous work, CIVIL has evolved from a national human rights organization into a regional and international actor working at the intersection of democracy protection, election integrity, media freedom, freedom of expression, and countering disinformation and foreign interference.

A core part of CIVIL’s work focuses on analysing, exposing, and countering disinformation, far-right propaganda, authoritarian narratives, and hybrid operations originating from authoritarian centres of power at the global and regional levels. CIVIL has developed and applies original monitoring, analytical, and reporting methodologies, combining media and narrative analysis, open-source intelligence, field monitoring, and cross-platform tracking with long-term contextual research. These are complemented by comprehensive approaches to civic awareness, media literacy, and public education designed to strengthen societal resilience against manipulation and polarisation.

CIVIL is openly and actively committed to supporting Ukraine in the face of Russia’s war of aggression. From the first days of the full-scale invasion, the organization has taken a clear public stance in defence of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democratic future, and against war crimes, propaganda, and attempts to relativise or legitimise aggression. In a region where ambiguity and false neutrality are widespread, CIVIL’s position has been consistent, visible, and principled.

CIVIL works across four closely connected areas: defending democratic institutions and values; ensuring the integrity of elections and public accountability; protecting media freedom and freedom of expression; and countering disinformation, propaganda, and hybrid threats. The organization integrates monitoring, investigative and analytical work, media production, public communication, policy engagement, civic education, and international cooperation into a single, coherent practice.

CIVIL operates at the national, regional, and international levels and cooperates with partners across Europe and beyond, including civil society organisations, independent media, academic institutions, and democratic policy networks. CIVIL is a co-founder of the Defending Democracy Global Initiative (DDGI) and an active participant in transnational efforts to strengthen democratic resilience, counter authoritarian influence, and support societies under pressure.

In practice, CIVIL represents a rare integrated model in which active citizenship, think-tank capacity, and independent media function within one organisational structure. This allows the organisation to connect research with real-time monitoring, analysis with public communication, and policy work with citizen engagement — and to respond quickly, credibly, and independently to emerging risks to democracy.

Rooted in human rights and freedoms, CIVIL’s mission today is to protect the democratic space itself — the institutions, the information environment, public trust, and civic capacities without which rights cannot be exercised and freedoms cannot survive. Through its work, CIVIL seeks to contribute to informed public debate, accountable governance, and a democratic culture resilient enough to withstand manipulation, coercion, and authoritarian pressure.