Following illegal Annexation of Crimea, NATO must be proactive in combating fake news — NIDC chief

09.12.2021 11:38

Ukrinform

Following the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia, NATO member states must take the lead in fighting disinformation and fake news.

That’s according to a statement by Vineta Kleine, Head of NATO Information and Documentation Center in Ukraine, who spoke at Kyiv Stratcom Forum, Ukraine’s first international forum on strategic communications.

"Since the creation of NATO, the Alliance has faced the issue of (fighting - ed.) disinformation. But due to the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, disinformation attacks have intensified. That is why the Alliance and NATO member states must be ready — and not just ready; they must work proactively to fight disinformation,” she said.

At the same time, NATO does not refute all disinformation targeting the Alliance, but only in moderation, because it believes that focusing on fighting disinformation only strengthens the latter.

"There are several tools we use. One of them is not to fight disinformation with the help of more disinformation, but to use only facts. NATO tries to convey information first, which is again based on facts and figures,” said Vineta Kleine.

Kleine added that NATO and Ukraine had launched several projects, including training courses on countering disinformation and improving media literacy.

Linda Austere, a senior expert at the NATO StratCom COE, added that NATO researchers’ advice was to change approaches to raising awareness about disinformation, including through special education programs.

"We need to make sure we understand the truth together. And then, of course, it will be easier to understand how to refute information that is not true or that is not based on facts,” she said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on December 7-8, 2021, Kyiv Stratcom Forum took place in the capital of Ukraine. It was the first international forum on strategic communications in Ukraine. Among its participants were NATO and EU diplomats, Ukrainian officials, representatives of Ukrainian civil society organizations specializing in strategic communications and countering disinformation. The Forum was organized by the Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security.