Establishing a national model for countering Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) will enable North Macedonia to move towards an integrated, functional and sustainable system for institutional response to such threats, as it was stated at the conference “Hybrid and Information Threats: From Recognition to National Systemic Response”, organized by the Institute of Communication Studies (ICS).

Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference pose a serious risk to democracy as they aim to undermine trust in institutions, disrupt the democratic process and exacerbate polarization in society. North Macedonia, as a NATO member, is in a geostrategic region that is often exposed to disinformation campaigns, therefore the state should establish a national mechanism for coordination and resilience to FIMI.

In his welcoming address, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski stressed that “disinformation campaigns are not just a media problem, but a security problem with strategic consequences.”

“This is the new battlefield. Therefore, I do not see this conference just as a scientific debate, but as an alarm for a real awakening. Hybrid threats do not only attack the system, but also trust in the system, and our task is to build a system that will not fall at the first strong blow of a disinformation campaign. Our task is to build a state that will recognize and respond to threats swiftly and professionally. We are building a systemic response, not using improvisations,” Prime Minister Mickoski pointed out.

To achieve this goal, the Prime Minister announced that trainings will be organized for the professionalization of staff and the necessary resources will be allocated to build a sustainable resilience system.

The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to North Macedonia, Matthew Lawson underlined that Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference is a security threat to all NATO allies and partners.

“Foreign interference is not part of a healthy democracy, it is a threat that undermines democracy. We are bombarded by disinformation and citizens and journalists cannot differentiate a legitimate debate from propaganda. That is why we are entering into this partnership, as a contribution to the global fight against disinformation,” British Ambassador Lawson said.

The Director of the Institute of Communication Studies, Zaneta Trajkoska, said that this project is a logical continuation of previous activities of the Institute of Communication Studies in the field of disinformation.

“Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference is an insidious and serious threat that undermines democracy and exacerbates divisions on all grounds, limits the sense of safety and targets vulnerable categories of citizens. In response to these threats, an integrated system is needed that will be unifying and will include academia, civil society etc.,” Trajkoska underlined in her opening address.

The conference featured the presentation of the ICS  policy paper “Institutional Response to Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference in North Macedonia: Models and Policy Options.” The document, which was prepared in collaboration with a coordination group of representatives from a dozen key institutions, states that the national approach to dealing with hybrid and information influences is fragmented and reactive, therefore a solution for a coordinated and sustainable system is needed. The analysis indicates that there is no unified institutional understanding of FIMI as it is not defined in domestic regulation. Key institutions insufficiently recognize their own role in the broader system, and most point to the absence of institutional communication and memory, as well as a lack of human and technical capacities.

The document proposes three possible models: a) creating a standalone centre for digital or national resilience, b) forming a national coordination mechanism under the Government, or c) integration into the Security and Intelligence Community Coordination Council. The policy paper recommends establishing a national mechanism based on inter-institutional coordination, media literacy, strengthening public awareness and international cooperation and it offers a roadmap with clear steps to be taken by the Government.

At the panel discussion, the Minister of Digital Transformation Stefan Andonovski presented the basis of the new infrastructure envisaged by the Law on Cybersecurity. Experts from the country and the region as well as from the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE) spoke about European practices and opportunities, the regional context, and opportunities for building long-term resilience.

The conference was organized within the “TRACE: Tracking, Exposing, and Countering Hidden Foreign Manipulations and Interferences” project, which is supported by the British Embassy in Skopje.