The Mediterranean Digital Media Observatory, or MedDMO, is carrying out a survey to identify the impact of misinformation and disinformation in Malta, Greece and Cyprus and media literacy needs.

Respondents must be aged 18 or over. The survey takes no more than a couple of minutes to complete, and it can be found here.

MedDMO brings together journalists, media literacy experts and researchers from the three participating countries, as well as the Agence France-Presse (AFP), who are working to counter the disinformation crisis. Times of Malta and the University of Malta, through its Department of Media and Communications, are Malta’s partners.

Disinformation and misinformation fuel social polarisation. While disinformation is fuelled by the intent to deceive, misinformation is not. Both are harmful.

Like crime, false information cannot be eradicated completely. But it can be monitored and mitigated, and ideally stopped at its source. Everyone has a part to play in this.

Information literacy is the lifeblood of a healthy society, and as disinformation becomes more pervasive and sophisticated, digital literacy grows more necessary. A recently published report flagged AI-derived disinformation as an anticipated top global risk for the next two years – even outranking war.

More information about MedDMO itself can be found on its website. Funded by the European Union, it is one of the many regional hubs within the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) network.