The Covid 19 virus showed the importance of facts in information. For the first time in the whole world, it was seen how fake news spread rapidly, and the damage had only one cost, life. Fear of an unknown virus that causes death makes people thirsty for information but also for simple solutions. In Albania and Kosovo, some central media allowed the spread of conspiracy theories, about the virus and then the vaccine, which caused destabilization, but also a lack of trust among a large part of the citizens.
We are in April.ë 2022. Almost 2 years have passed since March 2020 when the whole world froze before the numerous deaths that Covid 19 was rapidly "harvesting". The vaccine remained the only hope. Its production took time. The pressure was high. The number of victims across the globe was increasing çevery day. The vaccine remained the only solution to win the war against the virus that every day affected hundreds of thousands of people in silence. After several months, when humanity was isolated at home, powerful countries began to produce several types of vaccines. Today, over 11 types of vaccines are circulating on the market. AstraZeneca, Moderna, Johnson& Johnson, Sinovac, Pfizer, Sputnik, Novavax etc. After the production of the vaccines, the battle for their supply immediately began. Some countries managed to provide vaccines for the entire population, but many others managed to be supplied with smaller quantities. Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia were among the countries that did not have sufficient quantities of vaccines for the entire population. But this stage was accompanied by another battle, that of the contestation of vaccines by a large part of the population in many countries of the world and the region.
"Sindi is 21 years old. She is a student in Tirana and will not get the vaccine. I am afraid. It could give me complications and I want to be sure that tomorrow I will have a family."
Many young students, in order to escape controls, have managed to buy certificates proving vaccination. A warned phenomenon that has been addressed in an article of the Factoja dated August 31, 2021. Sindi, like many citizens living in cities or villages of Albania where health structures are in survival mode, receives the main information from MEDIA.
In Kosovo, apart from young people, a big controversy has come from pregnant women. "Fortesa is a young woman who is expecting her first child. She is afraid of the vaccine. She is afraid for the boy she is expecting but also for her health. She is one of the women in Kosovo who have opposed vaccination." Many have spread in the media fertility information çhas brought a steppe of women pregnant woman who refuse to get vaccinated.
Reports i NDI shows that in many media outlets in Kosovo but also in Albania, during the first year of the pandemic, news began to circulate advising the cure of this virus through folk remedies. These theories were spread in many countries in the region and the world. Treatment through folk remedies, at a time when the virus took many lives and there were many unknowns, became a trend for many citizens. In traditional media but also on all social platforms, dozens of disinformation articles regarding Covid 19 began to be distributed.
Senior representatives of the European Union have clearly stated that disinformation during the pandemic can kill, so it is very important that citizens are protected from fake news, by identifying it, but also by holding all actors who create and distribute it accountable.
The report by the European External Action Service (EEAS), an EU structure, has made a analysis of disinformation about coronavirus "COVID-19" in the media and social networks in European countries, finding that some of this fake news has been "fabricated" for political and financial gain.
In Kosovo, the interview American doctor Rashid Buttar, a graduate of Washington University, who declared that the vaccine would kill everyone and that no one had died from the pandemic, caused panic among citizens. This interview, according to a report of Digicomnet It has been distributed thousands of times.
Another piece of news that has been shared thousands of times in Kosovo is related to the arrival of 40 American military troops. Media in Kosovo report that this is being done at a time when there is talk of a virus. But as the pandemic spread and the number of victims increased çevery day, a news that spread both in Albania and Kosovo It was related to a statement by a Japanese doctor. According to him, if you held your breath for 10 seconds, you were not infected with Covid 19 and had no indications of coronavirus.
In the most popular media, publisher Alfred Çako has been producing conspiracy theories for almost two years that find space to be heard by the largest media outlets in Albania and Kosovo. These theories conspiracy In times of pandemic, they have brought fear but also refusal to get vaccinated by hundreds of thousands of citizens. Theories conspiratorial regarding the placement of a chip or even the death of the elderly on 65 years old if they do the vaccine they spread widely. Even the folk doctor Ylli Merja brought out a series of herbal medicine to heal affected from Covid, or to protect them from infection. Albanians in Albania and Kosovo who follow the same information channels, started using these cures while staying away from the vaccination process.
Environmental Engineer Sazan Guri also has an open stance against the vaccination process. He has described every person who has undergone the procedure as a guinea pig. vaccine. Guri continues to call for a ban on vaccinations.
In the first year of the pandemic, the Ministry of Health in Albania has repeatedly refused carrying out transparency, on the number of vaccines, their type, but also whether it manages to cover the entire country. Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group Survey, BiEPAG, showed that over 75 percent of the population in the Western Balkans believe in many or some of the popular conspiracy theories about COVID-19. The country with the highest percentage of supporters of conspiracy theories in the Western Balkans is Albania. From the graph we see that North Macedonia is penultimate on the list of countries that support these theories.
The Albanian government has declared that it will fully vaccinate the population against Covid-19 by the spring of 2022. Meeting this objective means that within the next nine months, almost three-quarters of the remaining population will be vaccinated, some of which have already received the first dose. But even though we are at the end of March 2022, more than 2 years have passed, hundreds of Albanians refuse to get vaccinated or try to buy only the certificate that they have been vaccinated. The March 31 vaccination data show that many citizens are still unvaccinatedAccording to him New York Times data, in Albania 43% of the population is vaccinated, while in Kosovo 44% of the population is vaccinated.
The disinformation vaccine
The new variant of the coronavirus, later named COVID-19, has challenged our society not only in terms of health and economy, but also in the field of information. News about the COVID-19 pandemic has attracted the attention of the audience like never before. News about the genesis of the virus, the mode of distribution, the health consequences, and even the safety of vaccines, have dominated the media ecosystem for two full years. But fact-checking platforms would reveal that many of the news about the coronavirus would turn out to be untrue. As in many other countries, in Albania and Kosovo, COVID-19 raised the level of misinformation and disinformation to another level.
To begin with, misinformation and disinformation are not the same thing. While both pose certain risks to our rights and society, the difference between the two lies in intent. Misinformation is misleading, inaccurate, or outright false information that is communicated without the clear intent to deceive. However, it is intended to be perceived as serious and factual information by the audience. Disinformation is false information that is disseminated with the intent to deceive people.
The purveyor of the “news” knows that it is false and wants to deceive his audience. Unlike misinformation, the purpose of disinformation is not a sincere attempt to enlighten, but a malicious attempt to incite fear, cause public harm, or profit.
Disinformation can confuse and manipulate citizens, create distrust in institutions, and fuel distrust of key challenges like the pandemic.
Accurate information for the citizens of Albania and Kosovo is even more important for the sole fact that they are larger users of media than other peoples in the region. A survey conducted by IPSOS in 2021 across the Western Balkans, reveals that 83% of Albanian citizens and 82% of Kosovo citizens use television as a source of information on a daily basis. But the same survey shows that social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube) constitute the second most frequent source of information on a daily basis with 53% in Albania, respectively 65% in Kosovo. Online media constitute the third source of information on a daily basis.
Comparisons with countries in the region also point to another phenomenon – the decline in trust in the media among citizens of both countries. The same IPSOS survey shows that only 52% of citizens of Albania and Kosovo have trust in the media. Among the three main reasons cited by Albanian respondents for lack of trust in the media were that they 'spread misinformation' (48%), 'are politically influenced' (47%), and 'spread propaganda' (25%). The same reasons were also given by citizens of Kosovo, although with a smaller percentage.
A little history on the infodemic
In an in-depth reading of the infodemic that did not exclude any country in the world, it is noted that during the pandemic and isolation, the level of circulation and reading of conspiracy theories and unverified information increased by 60 percent worldwide. Such a situation created a challenge for informing the public based on facts about the Covid-19 virus and its consequences. And not a few victims.
For Darrell West, vice president/president of the Center for Government Studies and editor-in-chief of the "TechTank" platform, "the high level of false information during the pandemic created the difficulty of dealing with the pandemic, precisely because it is difficult for the public to understand what to read or what information to believe."
"The result was a huge vaccine scare that made it difficult for many people to protect themselves against Covid-19. Media and technology companies/platforms have a responsibility to correct false material and convey scientifically accepted information. Social media sites on the other hand should block sources that openly distribute false information," he emphasizes.
"Media and technology companies/platforms have a responsibility to correct false material and forward scientifically accepted information. Social media sites, on the other hand, should block sources that openly distribute false information," he emphasizes.
For Kristy Roschke, a professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Communication at Arizona State University, “uncertain times are especially fertile for those who want to profit from false information. That’s why we saw a boom in disinformation on social media and other websites during the pandemic.” This information was easily accessible, and in conditions where we didn’t know much about the development of the pandemic, many myths or misinformation narratives spread widely.
The role of the media and journalists
Journalism professor at Columbia University in New York, Anya Schiffrin, told Faktoje that "the role of journalists has never been more difficult, but also more necessary, than during the global pandemic."
"Journalists have a role to play, but so do social media giants. The public sees false or unconfirmed information as it is recommended by algorithms. Social media has a leading role in this, they should not be putting this news in the spotlight or promoting it. Instead, they should be removing it from their platforms or from the spotlight," she says.
In fact, there is a ray of light even in the darkness.
West has focused his recent research on artificial intelligence, robotics, and misinformation. He agrees that “artificial intelligence has been used to spread misinformation, but it can be a tool to combat it. Algorithms can identify sites that are spreading false information, and technology companies can take those sites down. They need to be responsible gatekeepers to help protect public health during this difficult time.”
Roshcke, a journalism professor at ASU, notes that companies that provide social media platforms should not make it a practice to censor users. But they should ensure that misinformation is not optimized by their algorithms. One option is to share the algorithms with academics and media researchers so that best practices can be determined to minimize the effects.
Roschke, who co-authored a special course on media literacy at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, emphasizes that “media and digital literacy for all ages should be increased from the early years of school through college and beyond.” “We need to be able to continue to learn in both of these areas throughout our lives so that we understand media and technology on an ongoing basis,” she emphasizes.
Regulation or self-regulation?
Schiffrin emphasizes honesty, impartiality, and audience involvement in the reporting model – some of the steps that can be taken to rebuild trust between journalists and the public.
In the study[1] Its latest report highlights that “journalists believe in quality journalism and are more likely than others to believe that good journalism, following principles, will be the solution. They believe that trust in the media is linked to the practice of journalism, so they hope that improving standards, building trust through engagement and fact-checking is the solution.
But what regulation could work to curb unverified or misleading information?
Different countries or regions have different perspectives. The US focuses more on individual responsibility and is more skeptical of government regulation. Europe is more in favor of state-regulated solutions, although in Central and Eastern European countries there is less public support for government regulation. The EU is also divided on this aspect, despite the fact that it has set up a task force against misinformation, initiated studies and supported initiatives working in this direction.
The American response, meanwhile, largely emphasizes voluntary regulation by platforms, leaving individual responsibility to audience members and urging them not to spread unfiltered information. The idea is that “misinformation can be curbed if we don’t infect others.”
But without some kind of regulation, this slowdown in the spread of information is unlikely to happen, as those who spread information do not do so randomly. The spread of political misinformation and the anti-vaccine movement are two examples that confirm this.
Elira Canga, Jeton Mehmeti, Klodiana Kapo
Funded by the European Union
Regional project 'CONFRONTATION: A civil society effort to consolidate media freedom and combat disinformation and hate propaganda in the Western Balkans and Turkey.' is implemented with the financial support of the European Union by partner organizations SEENPM, Albanian Media Institute, Sarajevo media center, Kosovo 2.0, Montenegrin Media Institute, Macedonian Media Institute, Novi Sad School of Journalism, Peace Institute and bianet.
This article was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the authors. and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
This article represents the authors' assessment of the issues addressed and does not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of hibrid.info.