Read Twice brings disinformation in focus with a concluding event in Brussels

If you’re in the Belgian capital drop by for an afternoon of insightful talks on a topic that will feature heavily in the upcoming EU Parliament elections

On 21 February, the pan-European Read Twice project (R2) will host its final event to celebrate and reflect upon what has been a busy year and a half. The “Read Twice, Don’t Repeat Lies!” conference will take place in the European Parliament building, from 13:30 to 18:00. It is organised by Euro Advance Association and hosted by MEP Asim Ademov (European People‘s Party).

It’s a free event (with registration) where you’re guaranteed to learn a thing or two about disinformation as it pertains to the upcoming European Parliament elections in June.

Experts have already agreed that this will be one of the main red flags to watch out for during the campaign period and election time so Read Twice will do its part in educating and fostering a sense of preparedness among the voters.

The event will feature representatives from the European Parliament and the European Commission, who will be on site to share personal stories and highlight the significance of the various misleading narratives that will try to prevail the political debate during the campaign.

Disinformation and the EU

In first part of the conference, you will have the opportunity to hear how members of the European Parliament, including Asim Ademov and Andrey Kovachev have become victims of fake news and how they addressed these increasingly common problems affecting public figures today.

Harry Panagopulos, Legal and Policy Officer, from DG for Justice and Consumers of the European Commission, will describe how this EU institution is working to counteract propaganda and disinformation in the digital sphere and media outlets of the continent.

In preparation for the upcoming EU Parliament elections in June, Sara Anhborg, from the European Parliament’s Spokesperson Office, will directly identify, present and describe examples of common misleading narratives that we should expect to encounter in the period preceding the election.

The Voice of European Youth

Read Twice had a very important mission to carry out – to educate and prepare the youth from countries with lower media literacy levels, such as Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia, to recognize, respond and resist the disinformation campaigns that they may encounter in their daily lives.

This time, nine young media professionals from these countries who have participated in capacity-building activities will come to Brussels to share, reflect and talk about the highs and lows of their experiences in the wild world of disinformation. It certainly has been an exciting and eye-opening ride, any which way you look at it, and we can’t wait to hear their impressions and their ideas for the future.

Register for the “Read Twice, Don’t Repeat Lies!” conference here before 14 February.

For further information contact Aseniya Dimitrova, office@euroadvance.eu or +359882005000

The Read Twice partnership project involves Euro Advance Association (Bulgaria) (as coordinator), Udruga Echo (Croatia) and Se Poate (Romania) associations together with CICANT Research centre (Lusofona University, Portugal) and Alliance4Europe (Germany) as expert partners.