Author: Фондација Метаморфозис

Bardhyl Jashari, Executive Director of the Metamorphosis Foundation | Photo: Vancho Dzambaski

The lack of legal and institutional mechanisms to protect the digital space in the Balkans makes the region vulnerable to manipulation, disinformation, and foreign influence. While the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) establishes clear rules for greater transparency and accountability of online platforms, countries in the region still lack a similar regulatory framework.
The collective fight against disinformation is not just about correcting falsehoods. It focuses on preserving our democratic societies in which citizens make decisions and debate based on arguments. The fight focuses on strengthening media literacy at all levels, making societies resilient to external influences and interference. Today, fact-checking is under attack, and with it, democracy. This was highlighted at today’s conference titled “Together for Truth: Whole-of-Society Approach to Safeguard Democracy,” held in Skopje and organized by the Metamorphosis Foundation in celebration of International Fact-Checking Day, April 2.”
The conference was opened by Ben Nupnau, Deputy Head of Delegation of European Union in North Macedonia, Stephan Mundges, Coordinator of the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN), and the Director of the Metamorphosis Foundation, Bardhyl Jashari.
“Metamorphosis is an example in Macedonia and beyond in the fight against disinformation. With your work, you are fighting against the erosion of democratic values. In the EU, we have mechanisms to combat disinformation with the Digital Services Act and the European Media Freedom Act. The online platforms we have are transparent and independent journalism is spread through them. We are with you when it comes to greater protection of journalists and fact-checkers. This conference is an opportunity to exchange practices and strengthen our efforts to preserve democracy and independent media outlets,” said Nupnau, Deputy Head of Delegation of the European Union in North Macedonia.
Stephan Mundges, Coordinator of the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN), stressed that it is everyone’s task to strengthen democracy and continue the fight against the spread of disinformation.
“To be lied to and manipulated is to not be free. We meet here in a time of crisis. Fact-checking is under attack, and with it democracy. These attacks come from the East, but they are also starting to come from the West. Political pressure from the United States is making major American technology companies withdraw from the fight against disinformation. Meta’s program is not perfect, but it is the best fact-checking program on a major social network. It does not remove content, but checks for truthfulness. About 95 percent of users who see those tags do not click on the post, because they do not want to see false content. If Meta stops using fact-checking, Europe will be more vulnerable, and the income of fact-checkers will decrease. Meta is not the only one withdrawing, but also TikTok, Microsoft, and Google,” Mundges emphasized.
He added that fact-checkers are under attack in the Western Balkans and that there are unfounded raids and investigations against them and that the situation is not great. Mundges highlighted the police raid on the offices of the civil society organization CRTA from Serbia, which is also a member of the EFCSN.
“What can we change? Fact-checkers will not disappear, we have a big project, with which we will work to strengthen our pan-European network for all relevant stakeholders, because the work of fact-checkers is invaluable and it remains to function independently of political influence,” added Mundges.
The Executive Director of the Metamorphosis Foundation, Bardhyl Jashari, spoke about the need for urgent harmonization of the regulatory framework of Balkan countries with the principles of the Digital Services Act.
“Western Balkan countries still lack the necessary legal, technical, and institutional safeguards to protect people’s rights online. Unlike the EU, we do not benefit from the protection offered by the Digital Services Act, yet we all live in the same digital space. This creates a dangerous gap in the security and integrity of the Internet in Europe. We therefore call for the urgent alignment of the regulatory framework of Balkan countries with the principles of the Digital Services Act and the creation of a strong regional framework for information integrity,” Jashari said.
He noted that citizens from the Western Balkans are significantly exposed to harmful and illegal content on the Internet and that disinformation is everywhere–infiltrating political discourse, undermining trust, and distorting reality.
“Meanwhile, social media platforms, especially the so-called big online platforms, continue to profit from algorithms and amplify disagreements and misinformation, while being largely irresponsible in our region,” Jashari added.
Soren Liborius, Chief Advisor at the European External Action Service (EEAS), gave a video address at the conference.
“Disinformation is a core problem that we need to continue to address. In 2015, the heads of EU member states and governments agreed that something had to be done to combat Russian disinformation. Then came the start of the war in Donbas, and all the activities that led to today’s aggression took place, and therefore it was decided that a team should be formed to combat Russia’s ongoing efforts to spread disinformation. The EEAS has a public platform on which we communicate our findings to the public, what are the trends that are present, and how they are related to political developments. We have also developed our own methodology. On the platform euvsdisinfo.eu, we have a database, available to the public, and there are also examples of how the Russian side spreads disinformation,” said Liborius.
The EEAS report on threats from foreign manipulation and interference in information was presented by Chiara Pacenti, Data Analyst, who spoke about FIMI and the threat on a global scale. She noted that Ukraine is the main target when it comes to Russian FIMI attacks, which aim to weaken Western ties, NATO, EU, G7.
Today’s all-day international conference focuses on the threats of disinformation, foreign manipulation and interference (FIMI), electoral integrity, fact-checking and cross-sectoral cooperation. In Tirana, an evening forum “Democracy Matters–Facts Matter” will be held, organized by the Faktoje Center. The forum will highlight the fact-checking landscape in Albania, as well as regional cooperation, and will honor journalistic excellence with the Fatos Baxhaku Award.
Author: Antonija Popovska

On March 28, 2025, the final conference of the Digital Activism Program was held. The conference was held in Warsaw, Poland, with the participation of over 100 civic activists, representatives of civil society organizations and experts in the field of digitalization and the use of innovative tools. The Digital Activism Program was a three-year project of TechSoup Global, and the Metamorphosis Foundation was a partner in implementing activities in North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo.
Through the Digital Activism Program, 18 grants were implemented to support civil society in North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo, more than 100 participants were part of trainings on cybersecurity, data visualization, community building, and public communication, as well as recognizing and preventing disinformation. As part of the Digital Activism Program, two editions of the Megaphone international conference were held, where 15 participants from the Western Balkans had the opportunity to meet, network, and learn from experts in the field of artificial intelligence, communication techniques, and preventing disinformation. 47 short videos were prepared and published on topics of media literacy, open data, cybersecurity and cyber hygiene, as well as artificial intelligence.
The Digital Activism Program was aimed at increasing the capacities of civil society organizations from North Macedonia, Serbia, and Kosovo, through introduction to innovative technological tools for work, training in cybersecurity and disinformation recognition, mentoring aimed directly at the specific needs of the organizations, and building support networks.

🎯 Join Us in Skopje and Tirana on April 2 for the International Fact-Checking Day!
🗓️ April 2, 2025 | Skopje & Tirana
#TogetherForTruthFacts Matter in Safeguarding Democracy
🧩 To mark International Fact-Checking Day, the Anti-Disinformation Network for the Balkans (ADN-Balkans) invites you to join two regional events taking place in Skopje and Tirana, gathering fact-checkers, journalists, researchers, policymakers, and civil society leaders from across the Western Balkans and Europe.
🔹 SKOPJE | 10:00–16:30 | 📍 Hotel Holiday Inn
🔹 Agenda available here.
A full-day international conference hosted by Metamorphosis Foundation, focusing on disinformation threats, foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI), election integrity, fact-checking, and cross-sectoral collaboration.
🔹 TIRANA | 17:00–19:00 | 📍 Destil
An evening forum organized by QENDRA Faktoje, highlighting Albania’s fact-checking landscape, regional cooperation, and honoring journalistic excellence with the Fatos Baxhaku Award.
💬 What to Expect
Latest insights from the European External Action Service (EEAS) on FIMI threatsAnalysis of the geopolitical impact of disinformation on NATO-EU-Western Balkans relationsRegional experiences on election integrity, platform accountability, and content moderationTools and approaches for building societal resilience against online manipulationAward ceremony recognizing excellence in investigative journalism in AlbaniaOpportunities for cross-border collaboration, networking, and exchange
🎙️ Featured Speakers
📍 Skopje Conference
Ben Nupnau – Deputy Head of Delegation, European Union in North MacedoniaManon Janssen – Deputy Ambassador, Kingdom of the Netherlands to North MacedoniaStephan Mundges – Coordinator, European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN)Bardhyl Jashari – Executive Director, Metamorphosis Foundation, North MacedoniaChiara Pacenti – Data Analyst, EEASMartha Turnbull – Director, Hybrid Center of Excellence, FinlandBeaudine Verhoek – NATO Public Diplomacy DivisionSanda Svetoka – Senior Expert, NATO StratCom, LatviaKatarina Klingova – Senior Fellow, GLOBSEC, SlovakiaLaura Jasper – Strategic Analyst, HCSS, NetherlandsSonya Dimitrova-Martinyuk – Editor, StopFake, UkraineIoana Cosma – Country Director, IFESTamara Branković – Deputy Program Director, CRTA, SerbiaBardhi Bakija – Executive Director, Sbunker, KosovoBiljana Georgievska – Executive Director, Council of Media Ethics of MacedoniaEmilija Petreska-Kamenjarova – Deputy-Head of programme – Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services of Republic of North MacedoniaRuurd Oosterwoud – Founder & CEO, DROG, NetherlandsJona Plumbi – Journalist, Faktoje, AlbaniaMaida Ćulahović – Media and Digital Policy Expert, Why Not, Bosnia and HerzegovinaNacho Strigulev – Journalist, Blue Link, BulgariaDespina Kovačevska – Media Monitoring Specialist – Metamorphosis Foundation, North Macedonia
Maja Sever – President, European Federation of JournalistsMarko Milosavljević – Professor, University of Ljubljana, SloveniaRaša Nedeljkov – Program Director, CRTA, SerbiaGoran Rizaov – Media program manager – Metamorphosis Foundation, North Macedonia

📍 Tirana Conference
Klodiana Kapo – Executive Director, QENDRA Faktoje, AlbaniaBardhyl Jashari – Executive Director, Metamorphosis Foundation, North MacedoniaCoral Garcia – Maldita.es, SpainEnzo Panizio – Pagella Politica, ItalySilvio Gonzato – Ambassador, EU Delegation in Albania
🎉 Includes the “Fatos Baxhaku” Award Ceremony for investigative journalism and a networking cocktail.
✨ Be part of the regional movement for information integrity.
Let’s stand together for truth—across borders, across sectors, and across Europe.
📲 To sign up for the conference in Skopje please fill in this form: https://forms.office.com/e/Ng9C1aqwM2
#TogetherForTruth #FactCheckingDay #ADNBalkans #DemocracyMatters #InfoIntegrity

At the invitation of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, Mila Josifovska Danilovska, Program Manager at the Metamorphosis Foundation, was a speaker at the roundtable on the topic: “Digitalization of Public Administration in the Context of European Integration—Advantages and Challenges” which was held on March 6, 2025 in Skopje.
Together with Stanislav Vasilkovski from the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Valentin Fetadzhokoski from the Personal Data Protection Agency, Josifovska Danilovska gave an overview of the state of digitalization of public administration in the Republic of North Macedonia, from the perspective of the civil sector and state institutions.

Source: Helsinki Committee for Human Rights
Key challenges in digital transformation
In her presentation, Josifovska Danilovska emphasized that digitalization should not be seen only as part of the European integration process, but as a fundamental reform that will bring improvement in public services and increase the quality of life of citizens. She noted that the new EU Growth Plan sets specific obligations and deadlines in the area of ​​digitalization that the state must meet in order to ensure continued progress.
Josifovska Danilovska pointed out that cybersecurity is one of the biggest challenges, which, among other things, requires harmonization of legislation with the NIS2 Directive, and the establishment and operationalization of national and government CERTs in accordance with EU standards, in order to enable a high level of cybersecurity for comprehensive protection and further development of society.
In addition, she emphasized the need for alignment with the EU Digital Identity Regulation and eIDAS2, as well as the implementation of a single document management system in all state institutions. Josifovska Danilovska added that without interoperability, digital literacy and functional e-services , digital transformation will not yield real results. She placed particular emphasis on the importance of the need for a Digital Identity Wallet aligned with EU standards and the needs of citizens, with the aim of secure, fast and unified access to public and private e-services, facilitating cross-border recognition of digital documents and increasing trust, security and efficiency in citizens’ digital transactions.

Source: Helsinki Committee for Human Rights
Digital literacy and open data—key factors for successful digitalization
Josifovska Danilovska emphasized that digital literacy is one of the prerequisites for a successful digital transformation. Without digitally literate citizens and public administration, digitalization will not yield effective results. She emphasized that a strategic approach to digital literacy is needed, through formal and informal education, tailored educational activities and mass awareness-raising campaigns, in order for citizens to understand and benefit from the benefits of digitalization.
Related to the introduction of AI-based solutions in the delivery of public services, Metamorphosis conducted research on the impact of AI on human rights, analyzing European and international regulations and ethical standards. Josifovska Danilovska emphasized that, before applying AI in the public sector, it is necessary to establish clear strategies and policies that will ensure that the technology does not have a negative impact on human rights, especially in automated decision-making. She also spoke about the importance of harmonizing with the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, adopting ethical standards for the creation and use of AI, as well as signing and ratifying the Council of Europe Framework Convention on AI and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law.
Additionally, she highlighted the importance of open data for a successful digital transformation. Open data is not only important for transparency, but also because artificial intelligence-based systems only improve if they have access to relevant information and data. In this regard, she emphasized the need to adopt and implement a Law on Open Data and Reuse of Data in the Public Sector, in line with the EU Open Data Directive (2019/1024/ EU).
“All these processes directly affect citizens. Therefore, we believe that institutions should be open to cooperation with the civil sector, which offers expertise to support reforms and access to different categories of citizens—from the phase of designing policies and solutions, to their implementation and evaluation. Only in this way can we build a digitally strengthened ecosystem that will truly serve citizens,” concluded Josifovska Danilovska.

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It is necessary to strengthen the transparency and oversight of paid political advertising among online media outlets during the election campaign. This is the basic premise from which the implementation of the project “Money, Media and Elections in North Macedonia” began, which was implemented by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) together with the Metamorphosis Foundation. As a culmination of the implementation of the project activities, on March 4 and 5, 2025, in Skopje, the international conference “Clicks, Money and Influence: Online Media’s Roles and Responsibilities in Elections” was held.
In her opening speech, Ioana Cosma, IFES Country Director, emphasized that the goal of this event is to facilitate the exchange of international good practices and regulations for the supervision of political campaigns and online media outlets during elections, as well as to see whether some of those practices can be incorporated into the national practice and legal framework.
In his welcoming speech, Metamorphosis Executive Director Bardhyl Jashari noted that the implementation identified critical gaps and weaknesses in political paid advertising among online media outlets during the election campaign for the parliamentary elections.
Within the session “ Countdown to elections in North Macedonia: How to Strengthen the Transparency and Oversight of Paid Political Advertising during Media Campaign, including on Internet Portals?” there was a discussion on possible ways to improve the oversight, reporting, and transparency of internet portals during elections—a review of the current regulatory, ethical, and practical challenges regarding future elections.
Maksim Acevski, Auditor General at the State Audit Office, pointed out that the institution spends valuable human resources and money when it comes to monitoring the election process, which an entire sector composed of certified auditors continuously monitors.
“For years we have been saying that there is a need to amend the Electoral Code, which is being passed by political actors without consulting us,” Acevski said. According to him, this area needs to be regulated, especially in the field of internet portals, in order to prescribe criteria for the distribution of funds, as well as to further regulate penal policy.
The Director of the Agency for Audio and Audio–visual Media Services, Zoran Trajchevski, reiterated in his presentation that the AVMU believes there should be no paid political advertising from the state budget. He also spoke about the tendency of redirecting election campaigns to social networks. He said that during the presidential elections, it was noticeable that public office holders and candidates used their Facebook profiles to openly campaign, with live broadcasts, speeches, photos, and videos of meetings with citizens.
“That’s how they mobilized a larger number of supporters and gained more viewers. Campaigning on social networks is not regulated at all in our country,” Trajchevski added.
Minister of Digital Transformation Stefan Andonovski emphasized at the event that this ministry has taken over one of the responsibilities related to media policies.
“The number of portals is much higher compared to traditional media outlets, although many of them are phantom. The preparation of the media law is in its final stages and is expected to be presented at a government session soon, followed by discussion in Parliament,” the minister said.
The second day of the conference was opened by the Deputy Ambassador of the British Embassy in Skopje, Daniel Fieller, with a keynote speech.
“It is important to take stock from each election cycle as a next step to improving the integrity of future elections. Our UK funded IFES Project—Money, Media and Elections provides evidence and proposals for improved oversight of public spend in online election campaigning and the role of media in shaping public discourse,” Fieller said.
This was followed by the session “Overseeing Paid Political Ads: Institutional Roles and Changing Requirements in the Rapidly Advancing Digital Age,” which discussed national and international practices (and challenges) in monitoring paid political advertising and ensuring compliance, especially regarding online campaigning during elections. Speakers included Emilija Janevska, Head of the Program Affairs Department of the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services, Magnus Öhman, Director of IFES Regional Europe Office and Senior Political Finance Adviser, and Noemi Arcidiacono, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). The session was moderated by Danche Danilovska-Bajdevska, Program Director at the Metamorphosis Foundation.
During the final session, titled “Tools and Methodologies for Ethical Online Media Monitoring and Reporting,” speakers Sam Power, International Expert on Political and Party Financing, University of Bristol and Biljana Georgievska, Executive Directress, Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia, addressed the application of tools and methodologies for monitoring and reporting of the activities of online media outlets during elections. The session opened a discussion on good practices, technological solutions (including the use of AI) and regulatory approaches to ensure transparency, accountability, and accuracy in the oversight of digital media. The session was moderated by Zlatko Simonovski from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).
Over 70 participants and 12 speakers present at the two-day conference “Clicks, Money and Influence: The Roles and Responsibilities of Online Media in Elections,” discussed the ways in which online portals during elections and in a time of growth in digital campaigns and their influence can contribute to ethical and fair reporting on candidates and parties participating in elections, and the following conclusions were drawn:

There are no specific laws regulating online political advertising, hence the need for legal regulation of this area by granting powers to a given institution or body.
Until specific legal solutions are implemented, it is essential to establish mechanisms for enforcing and monitoring harmful content through collaboration with civil society organizations and the use of digital tools.
Urgent criteria are needed to ensure that state funding for election campaigns reaches credible portals.

There are good international practices that can help regulate the work of online portals and the financing and reporting of money spent in election campaigns in general, including artificial intelligence tools.

Attention should also be paid to the ownership of online portals, as this can often reveal an invisible connection between parties and the favoritism content that is being placed.

The conference “ Clicks, Money and Influence: The Roles and Responsibilities of Online Media in Elections, ” is organized within the framework of the project “Money, Media and Elections in North Macedonia” funded by the Government of the United Kingdom with the support of the British Embassy Skopje.

Online advertisements should have so-called (digital) fingerprints, so that it can be tracked who pays for those advertisements, for or against whom they are intended. Such fingerprints of advertisements should not only contain as much information and detail as possible but should also be kept in appropriate files so that there could be greater transparency, and they could be easier to track. These were some of the conclusions that Magnus Öhman, Senior Political Finance Advisor at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), shared at today’s briefing with journalists in Skopje, organized by the Metamorphosis Foundation and IFES, within the framework of the project “Money, Media and Elections in North Macedonia.” Dr.Magnus Öhman gave a comparative perspective on political advertising around the world, as well as some of the good practices, saying:
– Paid online funding, as expected, represents the largest share of political funding during elections. For example, in the last two months of last year’s US presidential election alone, $700 million was spent on Meta and Google alone, out of a total of $1.2 billion spent on online advertising during the campaign
Dr. Magnus Öhman (Photo: personal archive)
Dr.Öhman emphasized that a single country should not be taken as an example to completely rewrite the system, the law on financial reporting, especially since, in his opinion, many of the regulatory frameworks and laws lag behind new methods of political advertising. He emphasized the example of Donald Trump, who during the presidential election allocated less funds for political advertising and turned more to influencers and online commentators.
This is exactly what Emilija Petreska Kamenjarova from the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services spoke about at last week’s panel discussion. She pointed out that the media regulation covers influencers who share videos on online platforms in order to inform, entertain or educate users, and from that they make economic profit. And with the new rulebook that the Agency is to adopt this year, the criteria for which influencers will be subject to legal regulation will be specified.
“It is sufficient to reference online advertising in the [electoral] code,” says Dr. Öhman, “which would provide adequate oversight, thereby allowing regulatory commissions the opportunity to clarify the method of reporting and informing on online advertising, define what constitutes online political advertising, and specify what does not”
He also emphasizes that it is not only “states”, i.e. political entities, that are obliged to be as transparent as possible about advertising funding, but also the platforms and advertisers themselves where these ads are placed. In other words, how much money the candidates have allocated, how much and from whom the platforms have received it.
He emphasizes that EU regulations will only now need to be harmonized among member states, especially since they themselves have different laws on political advertising. Thus, аll member states will monitor the alignment separately, and the EU Commission will monitor candidate countries such as North Macedonia.
Furthermore, Dr. Öhman shared several good practices that are good to implement. The so-called (digital) imprints were emphasized several times, with which it would be possible to track who pays how much for those ads, for or against whom they are intended. Such imprints would be collected in some kind of files, similar to the Meta and Google ad libraries. As a positive example resembling such a system, the “Political Advert Repository” or PADRE from South Africa was singled out.
PADRE is actually an initiative of the South African Electoral Commission that aims to systematize online and digital political advertisements into easily accessible libraries that will increase transparency in electoral processes.
Photo: Screenshot from the South African Political Advert Repository, PADRE
Although, as Dr. Öhman shared and as can be seen from the website itself, the library is empty and has yet to be filled, the goal is to make the process as easy and quick as possible. This is the second good practice recommendation that Dr. Öhman shared. He believes that this process of reporting political advertising funding should be made simpler, so that it can be monitored.
The last example Dr. Öhman shared is adding some kind of code to the ads themselves. These codes would be placed beneath the ad and could be accessed in a file like PADRE. Alternatively, the codes could include a link that redirects to a library, where you can view the details of the ad’s origin, including the individuals responsible and the amount paid for the advertisement.

Source: Truthmeter.mk

We are pleased to inform you that the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), in collaboration with the Metamorphosis Foundation, is organizing an international conference titled “Clicks, Money, and Influence: The Roles and Responsibilities of Online Media in Elections.” The conference will be held on 4-5 March 2025 at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Skopje.
The two-day event will bring together experts and stakeholders to discuss ways to strengthen transparency and oversight of paid political advertising during election campaigns, including on online platforms. The sessions will cover various topics, such as paid political advertising, institutional roles, and the evolving conditions of the digital era. Best practices, technological solutions, and regulatory approaches will be shared to promote transparency, accountability, and accuracy in overseeing online platforms.
The conference is organized within the framework of the project “Money, Media, and Elections in North Macedonia,” supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the UK Government.

The Metamorphosis Foundation’s Initiative to align our legislation with the EU Digital Services Act has been accepted by the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia and included in its 2025 Work Programme.
Aligning the legislation with the Digital Services Act will support North Macedonia’s EU integration goals, improve its digital regulatory framework and provide a safer and more predictable digital environment for citizens and the business community.
This decision acknowledges the Metamorphosis Foundation’s efforts in promoting digital rights and internet security, as well as its commitment to fostering a fair and open online environment. At the same time, it supports the integrity of the consultative mechanism.
The Metamorphosis Foundation has produced an analysis of North Macedonia’s readiness to align national legislation with the EU Digital Services Act, which offers a detailed overview of the existing legal framework, identifies legal gaps and challenges, and gives concrete recommendations that can serve as a guide to effective alignment.

A safe internet for all!

The digital world offers many opportunities but also presents challenges. On Safer Internet Day, we emphasize the importance of digital services and our rights. Watch the video to learn how the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) is making the internet safer for all and discover how its new rules protect us online—from ensuring algorithmic transparency to combating disinformation.

Together we can create a better and safer internet!