National Security, Narratives and Counter-Narratives – A Project for Moldova

In today’s age of online media outlets, combatting against propaganda, disinformation, and deceptive media is of increasing importance.  On February 22, 2020, Meridian International Center and the U.S. Department of State welcomed three Moldovan leaders on a 3-week IVLP project to study the tactics, techniques, and technology for detecting and combating disinformation while also examining security issues such as frozen conflict with a breakaway province with Russian forces, the regional in neighboring Ukraine,  energy security, and international terrorism.

During their time in Washington, D.C., the group had the opportunity to meet with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in discussions with staff from the Office of Cyber, Infrastructure & Resilience’s work to protect elections and infrastructure resilience. In addition, the participants engaged with PeaceTech Lab housed at the U.S. Institute of Peace to learn how they are using technology to foster peacebuilding across the world.

A notable part of the participants’ time in Denver, Colorado was the unique opportunity of being able to witness Super Tuesday elections. The participants met with the Denver Elections Division, an independent agency that conducts the city’s elections.  The group examined, firsthand, voting and ballot counting in the city, ending the night with at election night party hosted by the Denver Press Club.

Following an exciting visit to Colorado, the participants headed south to Tampa, Florida. While in the sunshine state, the group participated in a workshop at the Poynter Institute, home of the PolitiFact Project, a Pulitzer Prize winning fact-checking project, and the International Fact Checking Network.  Throughout this workshop, the participants discussed topics such as evaluating sources and ethical decision-making in reporting.

Throughout their IVLP project in the United States, the participants met with a wide variety of leaders in the industry, spanning both the public and private sectors. Through these meetings and workshops across the country, the participants left with newfound knowledge that can be used both at home and abroad.

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