Vanovac: There is no better example of fake news than March 17, 2004

The President of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo and Metohija (DNKiM), Ivana Vanovac, stated that in the Western Balkans, there is no better example in recent history of what a fake news story can cause than March 17, 2004, which led to the March pogrom of Serbs in Kosovo.

"In this region, I believe we do not have a better example than March 17. It is the best evidence of how a fake news story can, in a historical context, change an area's demographic, social, political, and systemic aspects, as well as the way people live in that area," Vanovac pointed out to Kosovo Online.

Commenting on Serbia's announcement that it will form special teams by the end of the year to respond to the dissemination of fake news, Vanovac says that misinformation is pervasive and difficult to identify.

"Fake news is pervasive in the media. It is often very difficult to recognize because it is sometimes even 50 percent based on truth. The most effective fake news, the ones that do the best job, are usually based on a kernel of truth, making it difficult for the public to easily identify the inaccurate segment of what they are reading or hearing," Vanovac noted.

She adds that in the fight against fake news, the issue is not whether it will lead to censorship, but whether it will result in a loss of timeliness.

"Those who have the power to censor the media are usually also the ones who spread fake news, so that cannot happen. However, it can happen that journalists, out of fear of spreading fake news, take too long to verify it, thus diminishing its timeliness. Although it is always better to verify news thoroughly until we are completely sure it is accurate rather than publishing anything incorrect because that always has consequences," Vanovac concluded.