The media must serve the public and ensure that coverage of developments is fact- based in order to prevent disinformation, while artificial intelligence must be regarded only as a machine and journalists must learn how to use it without losing connection with real and reliable resources.

This was the main message from the "Connecting media communities" conference, organized by the European External Action Service (EEAS), which brought together some 100 journalists from across the globe.

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 versus disinfo platform works daily to counter Russia's disinformation campaigns. But the defender community goes beyond the institutions. For example, the powerful impact of the film "20 days in Mariupol", a team of Ukrainian journalists from the Associated Press trapped in the besieged city continued documenting the atrocities committed during Russia's war of aggression... But FIMI knows no geographical or thematic boundaries… This is why cooperation across 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. Alongside factual recording, we need robust strategies and we need a united fact-based response", said Orav.

Ambassador Orav mentioned Estonia as an example of how media literacy can be improved and how central that is countering Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI).

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

"Freedom of medium and media and safety of journalists are essential in societies that want to prosper aspire to be just and to be guided by accountability... We need to do our utmost to ensure the freedom of media is essential so that the information disseminated is fact based and reliable.

It is just as essential for media to live up to their duty, to serve the public right, to know and to foster a fact-based conversation that keeps the institutions and the citizens at the receiving end of the decision-making engagement and responsibilities", said Jahjaga.

During the conference, the role of artificial intelligence and new technologies in journalistic work 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 to our audience, to be one of the most informed citizens about AI, because it's not just changing the way in which how technology is changing the entire world, it's changing how people are consuming their information, it's changing the entire information ecosystem. This is something as revolutionary as when the internet first came on scene, and new rooms had to go from print first to digital first, the next evolution is of this AI first world that we're going to be living in.... And the second big important reason, is that, I think if we know how to use AI that are a lot of positive ways in which we can use it for our work... And that only comes, if we are the people at the forefront, experimenting with this technology, understanding how it's used. Because I always say that if we are not using it, others are, and the other people who are the bad actors and they're going to be filling in that void", said Roy.

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 sources.

"What I see in my environment, in 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, as it computer assisted journalist, now we are talking AI assisted journalist. It's okay but we need to check and fact check personally, with real people, not with the machine. The machine is good, but the machine is a tool, and we need to see it as a tool and to learn how to use it... We need to learn as journalist how to use this tool and to be as good as possible to use it and not to be afraid and see just opportunities, and again, my message is don't lose the connection with real sources", said Ceaglei.