"The regional approach of the fact-checking organisations in the Balkans gives hope that they will be able to deal with crises. Milena Popovic from Istinomer shared the opinion that collaboration through joint investigations and coordinated responses to disinformation must be enhanced. In her view, ... advocacy efforts should be pushed for increased platform accountability, especially through the new EU legislation that addresses disinformation. There are already established regional initiatives, such as SEE Check, which was founded in 2020. It is a network of six fact-checking organisations (Fake News Tragač, Faktograf.hr, Raskrikavanje.rs, Raskrinkavanje.ba, Raskrinkavanje.me, and Razkrinkavanje.si) from five countries in South East Europe that aims to promote media accountability, to improve media literacy and to combat disinformation. Some of the goals of SEE Check include enhancing research capabilities in the region for local and regional comparative media analysis, strengthening the capacity to influence policy development in the fields of countering disinformation and promoting media literacy. Vladimir Petreski also sees the solution in regional cooperation. According to him, quoting recent research, 50–80 percent of disinformation in the Western Balkans comes from abroad in the form of Kremlin influence, climate disinformation and conspiracy theories. He thinks that much more research on the issue is needed, both regionally and on the national level, in the form of reports, polls and analysis." The main issue for fact-checking organisations remains their financial sustainability. Kristina Hristova, the Head of Factcheck.bg, said that fact-checking projects in the region should be supported by other programmes with the aim of filling the gap that will be left with the withdrawal of American funds and the big tech giants. In addition to that, new business models are needed to secure the existence of fact-checking outlets." (Page 5) more

"A gradual transition from unconnected, discrete public relations efforts towards a coherent narrative is in progress. This is facilitated by the strengthening framework of cooperation, the change of posture and behaviour by Chinese institutions, the expansion of points of entry into the media envir ... onment and the widening range of cooperative actors. Such a shift requires a transition from inconspicuousness to a more open and assertive presence which is presently in train. China’s efforts are further accelerated by the existing structural public and media weaknesses. These range from media proximity to government, which encourages media outlets to uncritically amplify the government’s cooperation agenda, to the collapse of traditional business models. Ownership opaqueness creates yet another opening for outside actors with agendas, as does the endless multiplication of media platforms and web sites. An insatiable hunger for free content offers a further point of entry. Even so, China will be facing some headwinds as it attempts to embed and leverage its media presence. These range from an unsuitable style of interaction to cultural distance. Ideological rigidity is an also an issue. China’s strong presence in the region is becoming more and more apparent, inviting alertness and scrutiny." (Conclusions, page 32) more

"The Media Programme South East Europe of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) has taken a closer look at the current situation and developments of public service media in South East Europe the last couple of months. In a current representative opinion poll, over 10 000 people from all ten countries, ... which are covered by the Media Programme, were interviewed. How important do people find public service media for democracy? How much do they trust them? How should they be financed and what content shall be broadcast? And are PSM considered politically independent? [...] Hereinafter you’ll find the summarised results for the entire region and some special findings for the individual countries." (Page 1) more