The media must serve the public and ensure that the coverage of developments is based on facts to prevent disinformation, while artificial intelligence must be considered only as a machine and journalists must learn how to use it without losing the connection to the sources real and reliable.

This was the main message of the conference "Connecting media communities", organized by the European External Action Service (EEAS), which brought together around 100 journalists from all over the world.

While mentioning Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the head of the European Union Office in Kosovo, Aivo Orav, spoke about the EU's platform in the fight against disinformation.

"The European Union Anti-Disinformation Platform works every day to counter Russia's disinformation campaigns. But the advocacy community goes beyond institutions. For example, the powerful influence of the film "20 Days in Mariupol", a team of Ukrainian journalists from the Associated Press trapped in the city continued to document the atrocities committed during Russia's war of aggression... But FIMI knows no geographical or thematic boundaries. .. This is why cooperation between countries, communities and stakeholders is essential. The stakes are high and the fight against FIMI is not just a battle for truth, it is a matter of security. In addition to factual registration, we need strong strategies and we need united responses based on facts", stated Orav.

Ambassador Orav cited Estonia as an example of how media literacy can be improved and how essential it is against Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI).

Former president Atifete Jahjaga considers media freedom essential, focusing on her personal experience as a target of gender-based disinformation.

"Media and media freedom and the safety of journalists are essential in societies that want to progress, aspire to be just and guided by accountability... We must do our best to guarantee media freedom, because it is so essential that information is disseminated that is factually based and reliable. It is equally essential that the media fulfills its duty, serves the right of the public, knows and promotes a conversation based on facts that keeps the institutions and citizens at the end of the commitment and decision-making responsibilities", said Jahjaga.

During the conference, the role of artificial intelligence and new technologies in the work of journalism was discussed.

Journalist and artificial intelligence (AI) futurist Nikita Roy said there are many positive ways to use artificial intelligence.

"I think we as journalists owe it to our audience to be one of the most informed citizens about AI, because it's not just changing the way technology is changing the whole world, it's changing the way people are consuming their information, it is changing the entire information ecosystem. This is something as revolutionary as when the internet first came on the scene and newsrooms had to go from print first to digital, the next evolution is this AI, the first world we're going to live in... And the second reason of important, is that, I think if we know how to use AI, there are many positive ways in which we can use it for our work...And that only comes if we are on top of that, experimenting with this technology, understand how it's used, because I always say that if we're not using it, other people are using it, and other people who are bad actors and they're going to fill that void," Roy said.

Co-founder of the independent media project "CU SENS" in Moldova, investigative journalist Olga Ceaglei has spoken about the use of artificial intelligence, saying that AI should be seen as a machine and journalists should learn how to use it, without losing touch with real resources.

"What I see in my environment with my colleagues, I see a lot of young journalists, not only young journalists, but lazy journalists, who are sitting in front of a computer and doing news in front of a computer, it's not wrong, it's okay, I remember again, 5-10 years ago, we talk like this, it's like computer assisted journalist, now we are talking about AI assisted journalist. It's ok, but we have to check and verify the facts in person, with people not really with machines. The machine is good, but the machine is a tool, and we have to see it as a tool and learn how to use it... We have to learn as journalists how to use this tool and to be as good as possible to use it and not be afraid and see only opportunities, and again my message is not to lose touch with the real resources," Ceaglei said.