by: XHABIR DERALLA
No one can tell for sure how much money is being spent on creating and spreading black campaigns. But it is known that it concerns millions, and the centers from where the skills, training, guidelines come from are also known……
The disinformation campaigns are effective and cause long-term consequences. Without them, the effect of the daily blockades of the Parliament for stopping justice and the path to EU would be far less.
Replying to a journalist question a few days ago, Prime Minister Zaev described the situation with fake news very distinctly, through examples on how his working week had started. First he mentioned the fake news about the health system with the alleged announcement from Dr. Dokic, and then that three ministers had vaccinated themselves before others, and immediately after this that emigrants without Macedonian citizenship had been enumerated for the census. Fake news in a series, at the very start of the working week.
If one takes a closer look, at least five-six fake news and propaganda content are “sold” on a daily basis, as news in the media and social networks. Every day, from morning to midnight, and sometimes even after midnight. The term late night is their speciality, ahead of weekends and holidays.
And like this for years. And even in the moment while this text is being written (Thursday, April 1), at the end of another week in our lives, if we take a look at the days behind us, we will see a dense forest of fake news, disinformation and hate speech, often so vulgar and absurd that a person feels disgusted. And if a person leaves them, they spread as a virus. And a hassle If one is to sue. To wait for the institutions (prosecutor’s office), no use…
Fake news, if not started, then for sure sealed by MPs, ex-ministers in Gruevski’s government, and current senior officials of the party. The Prime Minister mentioned the talented Antonio Miloshoski (on Twitter and: Macedonian) as one of the main distributors for that day. For the sake of “dialogue” and “unlocking” the democratic processes, it is considered as “freedom of expression” …
And we know that, actually, the entire party primacy, headed by the first man of the party, are creators of fake news, disinformation and hate speech. And the European Parliament published a study where Mickoski is indicated as a source of disinformation (Mapping fake news and disinformation in the Western Balkans and identifying ways to effectively counter them). And it is known for talented Miloshoski that he appears also as alias in some Internet portals. If I’m not mistaken, he did once have an interview with himself. And not only them, and not only here. Other, smaller, but not less poisonous individuals and groups are competing with them too.
We know everything. See, ministers, and even a Prime Minister is complaining about the fake news. And the questions “how, who and when” will deal with the wild avalanche of campaigns for public disinformation and for directly threatening the public interest, and in many cases the security, somehow no one is asking anymore. We are all stuck in the daily reactions of the individual projectiles launched from the propaganda centers, counting the “dead and wounded”, treating as much as we can and know. But it seems that the “battle” is to no avail…
Increasingly more people are choosing conspiracy theories and sensational headlines, instead of information and facts. Increasingly more people are forgetting the basic rules of decency and choose to be vulgar and sleazy. Can it be worse than this? Yes, it can! It can always be worse!
translation: N. Cvetkovska
This post is also available in: Macedonian
