Countering disinformation a key topic at the Bled Strategic Forum

Participants agreed that disinformation and propaganda are not new phenomena, but that the emergence of the internet, social media and artificial intelligence has greatly accelerated their spread. At a time when false news can be louder than verified facts, it is all the more important to strengthen critical thinking, media freedom and trust in democratic processes.

Bezjak Cirman stressed that a major challenge for national security is foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI), which threatens the sovereignty of states. In her view, citizens must be aware when external actors attempt to influence their decisions through misleading information.

Governments cannot act as fact-checkers or "arbiters of truth", but their task is to raise awareness and educate citizens so that they can recognise such attempts themselves. This is also the main objective of the reREAD, reTHINK, RECHECK campaign and the gov.si/disinformation website.

According to Bezjak Cirman, the media and non-governmental organisations should also play a key role in exposing disinformation, while the owners of social media platforms should assume significantly greater responsibility for the content circulating on their platforms. At the same time, it is crucial that governments and other public institutions act as transparently as possible when making decisions, as this increases public trust and reduces the effectiveness of disinformation campaigns.