From 5 to 7 October 2021, FN Program Manager Rosana Aleksoska was attending a capacity-building training on countering disinformation in Portorož in Slovenia. The training was organized by the Centre for European Perspective and brought together representatives of government, civil society and media from all 6 countries in the Western Balkans in order to enhance resilience and encourage further mutual cooperation against disinformation.
Ms. Aleksoska had a presentation on the topic “Disinformation and Information Distortion in North Macedonia” where, inter alia, she stated the following:
“The information distortion in the promotion of the assistance related to COVID-19 that WB countries were receiving from its Western allies is concerning. The pro-Russian online media bias and the amplification on social media put the focus on Russia and China, whose contribution cannot be matched to those from the EU and other Western countries. Can you imagine what would have been the conditions and preparedness of the systems for fighting the pandemic if it wasn’t for the systematic and long-term assistance from the Western allies since the break-up of Yugoslavia?”
