Countering disinformation works best with clear strategic communications — German Ambassador

09.12.2021 18:00

Ukrinform

Countering disinformation works best with clear functioning of strategic communications, based on a powerful network of tools applied by NATO Allies.

This was a statement made by Anka Feldhusen, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany in Ukraine, during her presentation at Kyiv Stratcom Forum, the first international forum on strategic communications in Ukraine.

"Germany, together with France, supported Ukraine as mediators in its relations with Russia, which started the war against Ukraine in 2014. And our priorities remain the same — the mediation process in the Normandy format and in the context of the Minsk agreements.”

“We see how fake news and Russian propaganda were disseminated in Germany,” said Feldhusen. In particular, the diplomat recalled a story of the girl Lisa, who had allegedly been kidnapped by migrants during the 2015 migration crisis. In reality, the child turned out to have slept over at her friend's house.

According to the Ambassador, these examples show why Germans “have finally turned their attention to Russia's hostile propaganda." Feldhusen stressed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Government of Germany believe that countering misinformation and propaganda work best with a clear functioning of the strategic communications system.

The diplomat believes that it is wrong to respond to hostile propaganda and disinformation with own propaganda and disinformation.

“We need to define what we consider disinformation and fake news. To accomplish this, we need to raise awareness of how disinformation is spreading. This is about media literacy,” she emphasized.

As Ukrinform has reported earlier, on December 7-8, 2021, Kyiv Stratcom Forum took place in the capital of Ukraine. It is the first international forum on strategic communications in Ukraine. Among its participants were NATO and EU diplomats, Ukrainian officials, representatives of Ukrainian civil society organizations specializing in strategic communications and countering disinformation. The Forum has been organized by the Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security.