A year after the invasion of Ukraine, disinformation and narratives about the war have taken over the social media space with narratives constantly spreading among young people and beyond. The motivation behind Funky Citizens' efforts to combat disinformation in the online space stems from the reality we are facing these days, with more and more citizens vulnerable to the vast amount of unfiltered information.
The aim of the project is to explore, uncover and map a specific typology of disinformation and narratives circulated in Romania after one year of war in Ukraine in order to raise awareness, inform and advocate for countering disinformation. The event has the objective to bring together young people and Romanian MEPs to identify solutions to counter disinformation in the current context.
Citește analiza: Narative false rusești promovate în România în contextul războiului din Ucraina (PDF)
Motivation
Young people of today's generation are exposed to a huge amount of information, much of which is misinformation. In this context, they have to build their own fundamental values, strong principles and high morale, while the amount of information they receive is increasing all the time. The heavy use of disinformation has created a cloud of uncertainty about the conflict and prevented the international community from reaching a systemic resolution.
As Russia continues to push these false narratives, it is vital for members of the public to stay informed and recognize that these stories are nothing more than lies designed to manipulate perceptions.
Goals
- We will research and investigate at least 10 Russian narratives that promote disinformation related to the war in Ukraine
- Reaching at least 350,000 young peoplevia social media with information on these narratives and the way to counter disinformation.
- Engaging at least 20 members of the Parliament in a conversation about the cross-party solutions to counter disinformation.
Activities
- Research & social listening to identify ten narratives that serve the Russian disinformation campaign related to the war in Ukraine that are promoted in Romania. The research will be the link between the work we do to raise awareness among two diverse target groups – young people and members of the Parliament will be approached based on the study.
- Awareness raising campaign targeting youth on social media, in partnership with youth-led publication Gen, știri (News, like), using the results of the research and countering disinformation/ digital education tools
- Organise a round table to open a dialogue on disinformation in Romania. The event aims to bring together young people and MPs to identify solutions to counter disinformation in the current context.
- Starting an advocacy campaign towards members of the Parliament so that they become aware of the disinformation landscape and to promote solutions
Beneficiares
The materials resulting from this project will be aimed at the general public, but we will try to reach the target groups addressed in the project, namely young people and parliamentarians. We aim to facilitate dialogue between the two groups, so that we can start the process of tackling disinformation in the public space with mutually agreed objectives.
Budget and partners
The project is supported by the UK embassy in Bucharest and has a budget of 24.750 GBP.
We start of with our strategic partner: News, like (Gen, știri) - Your Generation, Your News, a project designed to bring news close to young people, where they are, on Instagram, TikTok, BeReal and Telegram. Launched in September 2021, the project grew quickly and organically, now being followed by over 45k young people on Instagram.
Calendar
1st of January 2023 to 31st of March 2023
