Moldovan parliament, civil society, mass media representatives unite forces to combat misinformation

Chisinau, 7 October /MOLDPRES/ - The first programme on cooperation in the field of combating the misinformation and promotion of democracy, Triangle for Democracy, has been launched at the parliament. Attending the event were Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu, European MP Dragos Tudorache, the head of the parliament’s commission for culture, education, research, youth, sport and mass media, Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrei, the head of the commission for national security, defence and public order, Lilian Carp, representatives of media institutions from Moldova, civil society, development partners, as well as representatives of the European Parliament, the parliament’s communication and public relations department has reported.

The programme, Triangle for Democracy, has the goal to counteract the threats and activities of manipulating the information and to contribute to the protection of democracy in the society, which will be carried out through cooperation between the parliament, civil society and mass media representatives. The programme follows the approaching of solutions to the complex problem of information manipulation, ensuring, at the same time, the freedom of expression.   

In his message given at the opening of the event, Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu said that the manipulation and misinformation were dangerous and toxic for the entire society. ‘’To combat these phenomena, we urgently need both the improvement of the legislation and efficient institutions. We must protect our information space and maintain the balance between the freedom of expression and combating the misinformation,’’ the parliament speaker stressed.    

According to MEP Dragos Tudorache, who is coordinator of the activities of backing the parliamentary democracy in Moldova, the phenomenon of misinformation becomes a major problem, as it hits the society and the lives of people. ‘’I would like that we see in our discussions models which invested in efficient instruments, meant to combat this phenomenon,’’ the European MP said.    

„I hope that this sharing of experience in the European context, as well as the legislative initiatives we have in order to tighten the security of the information space will help us identify solutions to this problem,’’ Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrei said.  

The first session within the programme was focused on the subject of prevention and combating the misinformation in the online environment. The discussions between MPs, European lawmakers, representatives of the civil society, development partners and journalists were held during all the day.

The programme, Triangle for Democracy, is a part of the activities included under the aegis of the memorandum on cooperation between Moldova’s parliament and the European Parliament, signed in 2021.

Photo: Parliament