EU Initiative Tackles Digital Misinformation Across Kosovo

Across the Balkans, digital and AI-driven technologies have dramatically transformed information ecosystems, creating new vulnerabilities for societies and democratic institutions. Misinformation and political polarization have emerged as significant challenges, prompting coordinated responses from international organizations.

The European Union, in collaboration with European Houses across the Western Balkans, has stepped forward to create spaces that empower citizens, decision makers, media outlets, and civil society organizations to combat these effects.

“Across Europe and the world, we all encounter a common challenge, how to safeguard our societies from misinformation, disinformation and information manipulation,” said Airo Orav, EU Ambassador in Kosovo, during the launch of The Glass Room: Misinformation Edition Exhibition in Pristina. His remarks underscored the EU’s ongoing commitment to initiatives that help citizens identify and respond to false information.

The Kosovo tour of The Glass Room exhibition represents one concrete implementation of this commitment. With EU support, the exhibition traveled through five Kosovo municipalities – Pristina, Podujevë/Podujevo, Mitrovica North, Gračanica/Graçanicë, and Gjakova/Djakovica – from October to December 2023, reaching diverse communities across the region.

The exhibition utilized a carefully curated series of posters, interactive applications, and animations to engage visitors with the fundamentals of misinformation – its nature, spread mechanisms, and persuasive qualities. Visitors gained insights into how misleading content shapes opinions, triggers emotional responses, and influences decision-making. Importantly, the exhibition highlighted how everyday online actions like clicks, likes, and shares can inadvertently amplify false or distorted information.

Beyond static displays, the initiative featured interactive capacity-building workshops in each host town. Media education experts Kreshnik Gashi and Darko Dimitrijević led these sessions, which covered pressing topics including deepfake technology, algorithmic bias, and the impact of digital design on public perception. Workshop participants received practical guidance on source verification and online privacy protection, building essential digital literacy skills.

The exhibition’s impact was amplified through strategic local partnerships. Sheila Njeri, representing Tactical Tech for Europe House Kosovo, emphasized the significance of these collaborations: “The EU’s support is critical in reaching both local communities and key decision makers, helping create space for discussion around media literacy, disinformation, democracy, and civic activism, as well as the role of media today.”

The initiative comes at a critical time for the Western Balkans, where information integrity faces multiple challenges. The region has been particularly vulnerable to foreign influence operations and domestic misinformation campaigns that can undermine democratic processes and social cohesion. By strengthening media literacy and critical thinking skills, the EU aims to build resilience against these threats.

Building on the success of the Misinformation Exhibition Edition, the initiative will continue with a new installment – The Glass Room: The Digital World – Your Personal Data Trap. This upcoming exhibition will explore another critical dimension of digital life, focusing on personal data and privacy implications of everyday online interactions.

Together, these two exhibitions create a comprehensive educational journey that connects the dots between misinformation, personal data exploitation, and digital power dynamics. The approach combines engaging visual displays with hands-on learning opportunities, all adapted to local contexts through community partnerships.

The initiative reflects the EU’s broader strategy to support democratic resilience in candidate countries like Kosovo. By investing in citizens’ ability to navigate complex digital information environments, these efforts aim to strengthen democratic foundations from the ground up. As digital technologies continue to evolve rapidly, such initiatives will remain essential components of democratic protection efforts throughout the region.