In an interview for CIVIL Media, Bojan Kordalov, communicologist-specialist in public relations and new media, says that statistics show that our country is facing a large number of disinformation and points out that it is extremely important for citizens to be able to recognize disinformation.
“Statistically, we are facing a large number of disinformation, both research and facts say so. We see and follow it every day, but what is most important is for every citizen to be aware that it exists among us and to be able to recognize it. Part of the population thinks that it is something terrible, and another part that it is a tool to silent someone. Fake news harm every one of us, because creators of fake news have their own goal, such as, for example, that Covid doesn’t exist.
However, the citizens are the victims who believed that they shouldn’t get tested or receive therapy”, says Kordalov and adds that demystification and the inclusion of each individual in this fight is the only success.
As to the question how through action and activities to deal with the challenges that disinformation and propaganda bring about, he says that this topic should be discussed more often and this can be achieved only if more people are involved in the process through dialogue.
“Once and for all, we need to realize that in a country there are people who think differently, this is something we forget. Here in the most direct jargon that is used in our country, bathed and not bathed, and that is a problem. We shouldn’t divide and discriminate ourselves on any basis, but instead we need to find ways, because it concerns our lives. In a war such as the war in Ukraine, you can have a different view as a person, to whom you give support, but as a country we are a NATO member state, we have a strategic goal, because we decide within the framework of the NATO alliance on which side we are on, and if you carry out propaganda with fake news or fall for it, then you are undermining the position of your country”, says Kordalov who further goes on to say that an important part of this fight against fake news are the authorities who would help with transparency and digitalization.
“There is no institution that gives good, quality and fast services that can be a target of fake news. Here is an example, when you would have an institution issuing a birth or citizenship certificate in two seconds or by going to the counter, without having to wait a week, as they say, just in case you were born again in the meanwhile, then there would be no fake news that would say that this institution is bad, or not working and so on. On the contrary, when you have a system that doesn’t offer the service for the citizens, fake news easily finds the gap and becomes allies of the citizens”, says Kordalov.
He adds that the media are heroes who in such a situation fight to tell apart fake from real news and that is something that has to be acknowledged, particularly by the authorities.
“It will contribute to setting where the goal is and where the fight is”, says Kordalov who believes that the biggest ally in this fight are the media.
“Every one of us has to build a critical creative opinion regardless of the time they are in, and especially focus on having critical thinking and our own position, not to be afraid to say it”, he says.
Biljana Jordanovska
Prepared by: А. Risteski
Camera and editing: Samuel Debus/OK-TV Ludwigshafen
Translation: N. Cvetkovska
The interview is part of the project “Resilient journalism in countering disinformation and propaganda”, which CIVIL is implementing in partnership with Youth4Media (Y4M), with the support of the Government of North Rhine-Westphalia, Dusseldorf, Germany.
