Organised Disinformation in Poland: An Ongoing Investigative Story
The Reporters' Foundation has long been working on exposing the troll farms in Poland. Their reporters went undercover to work at one. They also examine disinformation for hire that is a growing branch of business, along with disinformation and propaganda organized by politicians. Most recently, they focused on mapping the resonance of the QAnon conspiracy theories that are spreading from the US to Europe. In this session, Anna Gielewska of the Reporters' Foundation will not only talk about these findings but also share what new approaches and methods to use and how to foster cross-sector cooperation to get the results you want.
This discussion was organized in cooperation with the International Visegrad Fund.
Speaker
Anna Gielewska, Journalist, Reporters Foundation, Poland
Moderator
Brigitte Alfter, Journalist, Author, Director, Arena for Journalism in Europe, Denmark
How to Expose an Illegal Arms Business in Your Pajamas
There are currently about 30 armed conflicts around the world: civil wars in Syria, Libya, Yemen, and South Sudan; territorial disputes in Ukraine and Turkey; ongoing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh; instabilities in Lebanon, Egypt, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. All need weapons and ammunition, and a lot of it. But the arms trade is one of the most opaque global businesses. There are no arms deals between Syria and Bulgaria, but you’ll find Bulgarian rockets all over Syria. Not only are there no arms deals between Libya and Serbia, there is an arms trade ban in place. If you know where to look, however, you can find pictures and videos of newly produced Serbian mortars in Libya. Unless your media organization sends you to the battlefield to research, how do you get to the bottom of this? It’s actually simple, if you know where to look.
This discussion was organized in cooperation with the International Visegrad Fund.
Speaker
Ivan Angelovski, Investigations Editor, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, Serbia
Moderator
Brigitte Alfter, Journalist, Author, Director, Arena for Journalism in Europe, Denmark
The Kocner Library: 57 Terabytes That Shook Slovakia
The Kočner Library project contains thousands of documents relating to Slovak businessman Marián Kočner, who was tried for allegedly ordering the assassination of investigative reporter Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová. The library is available to Slovak journalists for pursuing stories relating to Kočner, who has been accused of links to organized crime. How did this project start? How do you organize such a huge task? What has been accomplished, and what is next? Pavla Holcová of OCCRP and investigace.cz will talk about the details of this award-winning project.
This discussion was organized in cooperation with the International Visegrad Fund.
Speaker
Pavla Holcová, Investigative Journalist and Founder, Investigace.cz, Czechia
Moderator
Brigitte Alfter, Journalist, Author, Director, Arena for Journalism in Europe, Denmark
Elite Capture and Media as a Tool of Chinese Propaganda
The propaganda of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has not relented during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has grown even stronger and more aggressive. This session will cover how this propaganda mechanism works and its main narratives. You also will learn from a Czech award-winning investigation of Chinese pressure on the media and academia as part of an overall strategy to capture elites and cultivate a corrupt environment in Czechia. Why is China and its strategic influence so important? What should you know when working with sources about China? How precisely does China/CCP try to exert its influence in Czechia? Answers to these questions will be provided by Kateřina Procházková of the sinopsis.cz project.
This discussion was organized in cooperation with the International Visegrad Fund.
Speakers
Kateřina Procházková, Analyst at Sinopsis project, AcaMedia, Czechia
Moderator
Christopher Walker, Vice President for Studies and Analysis, National Endowment for Democracy, USA
Interview: From a Single Investigation to Nationwide Recognition - That is Austria's Dossier
Speaker
Sahel Zarinfard, Co-Founder and Reporter, Dossier, Austria
Moderator
Julia Savchenko, Anchor and Senior Editor, Voice of America, USA