Focus
Countering Disinformation in Moldova
The Countering Disinformation in Moldova (CDM) project builds the capacity of local Moldovan organisations and journalists to increase resilience of the Moldovan population to malign influences and effectively counter disinformation operations in their country.
Years active: 2022-present
CDM draws on IWPR’s successful track record supporting local CSOs and media organisations in the Eastern Partnership region, including Moldova.
This project is supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and is aimed at strengthening the capacity, collaboration, and effectiveness of local Moldovan organisations to build resilience of the Moldovan public to disinformation and interference from hostile actors. The project is led by IWPR and implemented with 11 CSOs working at a local and national level across the country.
LATEST FROM THE PROJECT
Georgia’s Foreign Agents Law and the Lessons for Moldova
Chisinau event hosts discussions on how strategising and building resilience could prevent similar developments.
Moldova: Coordination Key to Counter Disinformation
Ahead of landmark votes, addressing malicious narratives is critical for the country’s European path.
Taylor Swift, Vladimir Putin and Kids Identifying as Cats
IWPR guide explores how malign actors use gendered narratives to disrupt societies – and lays out techniques to counter them.
New Centre to Tackle Disinformation in Moldova
IWPR launches one-stop shop for media and civil society to address Moldova’s hybrid threats.
Moldova: Learning Key Skills to Counter Disinformation
Training events cover advanced fact-checking, conflict sensitive communication and open-source intelligence.
Moldova: From Village to Village
Project trains people in more isolated areas how to identify and combat fake news.
Russian Propaganda Dominates Moldova’s Gagauzia
Pro-Kremlin narratives rule the information space in an autonomous region with deeply rooted ties to Moscow.
Coming Out in Gagauzia’s Conservative Society
“Living life with a constant feeling of fear; this is what you have to get used to here if you are gay.”
Moldovans Face Bomb Threats and Cyberattacks
Attacks are tracked to pro-Kremlin forces as tools to put pressure on Chisinau in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
PROJECT HANDBOOKS
Moldova: Gender Disinformation Handbook
This handbook is designed to support communicators, campaigners, journalists, and educators.
It is the sister publication to the Moldova Disinformation handbook which looks at disinformation in all its forms. Gender disinformation, misinformation, and propaganda are big subjects. To understand them well you will need an understanding of history, politics, online behaviour, and even biology.
Moldova: The Disinformation Handbook
The handbook is aimed at journalists, communicators, campaigners and educators.
Rather than a comprehensive guide to disinformation, it is designed as an introduction to this subject that should help users develop a ‘fact checking mindset’. Whilst the focus is on Russian disinformation in the context of the war in Ukraine and threats to Moldova, the range of examples to illustrate the key learning points are as global as the sources of fake news.
Summary of Countering Disinformation Moldova (CDM) Formative Research
This summary provides a snapshot of emerging findings on views towards Russian & Western integration, media preferences and perceived credibility of different media sources, alongside insights on the features of content considered trustworthy and persuasive by profiles of Moldovans with a Russian, Western, or Neutral political alignment.
