“Information fusion in the age of disinformation”, Petro Koçi: Russia poses a risk for the Western Balkans

Published: Friday, 17 May 2019 11:52

“Information fusion in the age of disinformation” was the theme of Western Balkans and Black Sea Region two-day Conference, which was conducted at the Ministry of Defense.

This conference, organized by the Joint Force Command of NATO in Naples, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, aims to address a wide range of issues related to the identification, evaluation and handling of disinformation, fake news and influence, which is exercised in the aforementioned regions.

Deputy Defense Minister Petro Koçi during his speech said that we are constantly being influenced by the growing “booming” of communication tools that are being also abused, as in the case of Russia and the impact it is trying to create in the Western Balkans.

“In the Western Balkans, the hybrid warfare is becoming a serious threat to the stability of our countries. Such dangers are constantly being fueled by the continued presence of Russian influence through some digital means and tools, like Sputnik, but not only, they are, unfortunately receiving a very strong support from some of the countries in the region, particularly in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina”, - said Deputy Minister Koçi.

Deputy Commander of NATO Joint Force Command, Lieutenant General Christian Juneau said that the upcoming war would be more of a cyberwarfare than a physical one.

“All actions and words create informational effects on the perception of the population, either intentionally or not. These effects have become even more complex by today's global information environment, which levels the field of communication, empowers asymmetric opponents and complicates messages because of the interconnection of different audiences and ‘real-time’ media. It is likely that the upcoming war will be a cyberwarfare than a physical one. Is NATO ready for it? Our potential opponents use information and misinformation as a key component of the hybridwarfare”, - he said.

While, Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, Brigadier General Bardhyl Kollçaku said that this conference will be very productive and valuable to all participants. “The conference of the Western Balkans and the Black Sea Region, which deals with the topic of the information environment at the time of disinformation, has come in an appropriate time and, taking into account the participants and their experiences, I am confident that it will be very productive and valuable for all of us.” - concluded Brigadier General Kollçaku.

In this conference, apart from the representatives of the NATO Headquarters in Brussels, SHAPE, there are participating even representatives of many NATO structures in the Balkan regions.