Disinformation experts from around the Mediterranean are meeting in Malta this week to discuss the role of fact-checking in combating false news.
The experts form part of the Mediterranean Digital Media Observatory (MedDMO), a consortium of digital investigation journalists, media literacy experts and academic researchers from Cyprus, Greece and Malta.
Times of Malta and the University of Malta are the Maltese members of the consortium.
The meeting was opened by project coordinator Nikos Sarris, who discussed the project’s work in promoting media literacy amongst the public in the three countries. Sarris outlined how fact-checking is contributing to more awareness of disinformation campaigns that are being spread throughout the region.
Several disinformation campaigns spread in Malta over the past months were discussed by Neville Borg, fact-checker at Times of Malta.
Borg highlighted how disinformation in Malta varied greatly in nature, ranging from misleading political claims to potentially harmful scams and hoaxes, as well as broader misconceptions on burning social issues.
“Times of Malta has been at the forefront of the fight against disinformation”, said Borg. “We face many new challenges over the next months, from the upcoming MEP election to new technological developments, particularly in the field of generative AI. Europe, and Malta, need to be prepared to meet these challenges”.
Alex Grech, founder of the 3CL Foundation and digital media academic at the University of Malta, discussed the changing nature of media and the growing “information crisis”.
Grech also presented the foundation’s recently published manifesto on young people and information to the consortium members.
Malta’s media environment also came under the spotlight in a brief talk delivered by Ġorġ Mallia, head of the Department of Media and Communications at the University of Malta
The members of the MedDMO consortium include journalists, academics and media professionals from AFP, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the Athens Technology Centre, CERTH, the Cyprus University of Technology, Ellinika Hoaxes, University of Malta, Times of Malta, and the University of Cyprus.
More information on MedDMO’s work is available on the project’s website.