Winning elections with voices of truth

One of Europe’s smaller nations finds it can counter a Russian-led "firehose of falsehoods."

|
Reuters
Maia Sandu, Moldova's president and a candidate in the Oct. 20 election, attends a campaign rally in Chisinau, Sept. 20.

As the elected president of Moldova – one of Europe’s poorest countries – Maia Sandu often uses part of her day to rebut online falsehoods about her or her government. No, she did not ban a popular berry-infused tea last year, as one video on social media claimed. Her latest swat at fake news was against a post alleging that farmers would be forced to sell their land if Moldova, a former Soviet state, joined the European Union.

“I saw a new scarecrow about our lands,” the Harvard-educated leader said this week. “I want to make quite clear: Moldova’s integration into EU poses no risk to our lands.”

But she then made a larger point that illustrates why her country, sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania, may be at the top of a massive disinformation campaign orchestrated by Russia:

“It is important that the lies do not determine the fate of Moldova,” she said. “We must make sure that the people take decisions based on the truth.”

Of all the democracies targeted by Moscow’s propaganda machine this year, Moldova is currently experiencing one of the most intense “firehose[s] of falsehoods,” as American officials call it. On Oct. 20, voters will not only choose a president but also vote in a referendum on putting EU membership as a national objective into the constitution.

With polls showing a victory for Ms. Sandu as well as a “yes” vote on joining the EU, Russia and its allies within Moldova seem to be aiming their false narratives at widening the existing social divisions and preparing to destabilize the country with protests after the vote. But they are up against Moldova’s well-oiled capability to help people discern fact from fiction.

With assistance from European countries and the United States, Moldova’s government, civil society, and news media are learning how to detect online lies and counter them, helping to build up the public’s media literacy. Domestic media, for example, have received training in fact-checking. Social media giants Facebook and TikTok have agreed to fight disinformation during the election campaign. In addition, many Russian news sites have been banned.

“We commend Moldova’s leaders for continuing to capably manage these threats [and] build resilience,” stated the U.S., United Kingdom, and Canada in June. One result of Moldova’s efforts: Even politicians seen as openly siding with Moscow support EU integration.

“Only the voice of truth can overcome this fear and propaganda,” analyst Serghei Turcanu stated on the Ava website. For President Sandu, that is almost a daily task. The lies, however, may be vanishing more quickly.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Winning elections with voices of truth
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2024/1001/Winning-elections-with-voices-of-truth
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe