Malta, a small island nation with a highly interconnected media landscape, faces unique challenges in the fight against disinformation. In this episode, Neville Borg, journalist and fact-checker at Times of Malta, reveals the dominant fake news narratives circulating in the country—from misleading claims about migration and demographics to political misinformation spread by both major parties.

💬 How does disinformation shape public debate in Malta?
🔎 Who benefits from spreading false narratives?
📢 What strategies help combat misinformation?

Tune in to TruthTalks and join us as we uncover the truth behind Europe’s disinformation landscape.

The sole responsibility for any content supported by the European Media and Information Fund lies with the author(s) and it may not necessarily reflect the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.



Truth Talks: Disinformation in Malta

📺 Teraz Europa 

Gościem programu jest europoseł Platformy Obywatelskiej i Europejskiej Partii Ludowej, Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz.

🎙️ Tematy rozmowy:
🔹 Rok po reformie – czy media publiczne odzyskały wiarygodność?
🔹 Polaryzacja w Polsce i Europie – jak wyjść z politycznej wojny?
🔹 Finansowanie mediów – czy istnieje model wspierający rzetelne dziennikarstwo?
🔹 Czy Europa prowokuje wojnę? – O skrajnej prawicy i autonomii strategicznej UE.


Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz: Media publiczne, polaryzacja i przyszłość Europy

In the latest episode of Now Europe, our guest is David McAllister, Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee. We discuss the major successes and challenges of EU foreign and security policy in 2024.

Is Europe ready for further enlargement? What are the prospects for Ukraine and the Western Balkans? What are the implications of cooling transatlantic relations, and is a common defense policy a realistic scenario? Tune in to find out!

🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, and other streaming platforms.

Photo - European People's Party/Flickr

Europe in Turbulent Times – A Conversation with David McAllister

🇪🇺 Teraz Europa – gościem odcinka jest europoseł Michał Wawrykiewicz. Rozmawiamy z nim o decyzji Parlamentu Europejskiego dotyczącej immunitetu Mariusza Kamińskiego i Macieja Wąsika oraz konsekwencjach tej sprawy. Dyskutujemy także o sytuacji na Węgrzech, nowych restrykcjach forsowanych przez rząd Viktora Orbána i naruszeniach unijnych standardów demokracji. Co dalej z Węgrami w UE? Jakie mechanizmy może uruchomić Unia? Posłuchajcie! 🎧

Photo: © European Union 2024 - Source : EP

Michał Wawrykiewicz: Immunitet Kamińskiego i Wąsika a praworządność

Why is Russian propaganda in Bulgaria no longer targeting the US—but focusing entirely on the EU and NATO?

Dr Ralitsa Kovacheva from Sofia University joins us to unpack how Kremlin disinformation has evolved in Bulgaria and why the country is particularly vulnerable to it.

We discuss:
	•	The most common fake news narratives
	•	The declining role of the US in Russian propaganda
	•	Why Bulgarian media and politicians amplify pro-Kremlin messages
	•	The anti-Euro campaign and nostalgia for communism
	•	When disinformation isn’t fake—but still dangerous

Tune in to explore how disinformation spreads across Europe and what it means for democracy.

The sole responsibility for any content supported by the European Media and Information Fund lies with the author(s) and it may not necessarily reflect the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.



Truth Talks: Disinformation in Bulgaria

How does disinformation adapt to the national context? In this episode, we take a deep dive into Spain’s disinformation landscape with Pablo Hernández from Maldita.es, a fact-checking and investigative journalism platform.

🔍 Topics we explore:
	•	Persistent disinformation against migrants, especially from North Africa
	•	How fake news exploited the 2024 floods in Valencia
	•	Wild conspiracy theories involving “cloud theft” and climate denialism
	•	Anti-EU and anti-system narratives
	•	Why some influencers pretend to be journalists — and the damage it causes
	•	The role of domestic vs. foreign actors in spreading falsehoods

💡 “Disinformation doesn’t create public debates—it hijacks them.”

The sole responsibility for any content supported by the European Media and Information Fund lies with the author(s) and it may not necessarily reflect the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.



Truth Talks: Disinformation in Spain

What makes Portugal’s disinformation landscape unique—and why is anti-immigrant rhetoric so persistent?

In this episode, we talk to Filipe Pardal, COO of Polígrafo and board member of the European Fact-Checking Standards Network, about the most dangerous and recurring fake news narratives in Portugal.

📌 Topics we cover:
	•	How false claims about immigration dominate Portugal’s disinformation space
	•	The use of fake statistics in political campaigns
	•	AI-generated health scams involving well-known doctors
	•	Signs of foreign interference in recent elections
	•	The growing role of pre-bunking and media literacy as countermeasures
	•	How Portugal’s colonial past is weaponised in historical revisionism

The sole responsibility for any content supported by the European Media and Information Fund lies with the author(s) and it may not necessarily reflect the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.

Truth Talks: Disinformation in Portugal

In this episode, we talk to Vladimír Šnídl, journalist at Denník N and author of Truth and Lies on Facebook.

🎯 You’ll learn about:
	•	The emotional logic behind viral fake news
	•	Why Slovaks are more likely than Czechs or Poles to blame Ukraine or the West for the war
	•	How distrust in institutions fuels disinformation
	•	Why Facebook is the country’s disinformation battlefield
	•	What civic society is doing to fight back

The sole responsibility for any content supported by the European Media and Information Fund lies with the author(s) and it may not necessarily reflect the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.



Truth Talks: Disinformation in Slovakia

🇫🇷 In this episode, we dive into France’s complex disinformation ecosystem with Vincent Couronne, CEO of Les Surligneurs, a unique French media outlet specializing in legal fact-checking.

🎯 Topics we cover:
	•	How fake legal claims undermine trust in justice and democracy
	•	Disinformation around Marine Le Pen’s corruption case
	•	The rise of “sovereign citizens” and anti-rule-of-law narratives
	•	French politicians echoing Kremlin talking points
	•	How Russian operations feed GenAI tools like ChatGPT with fake news
	•	The strengths—and blind spots—of France’s fact-checking ecosystem

💡 “Critical thinking is not the same as just criticizing,” says Couronne. 

The sole responsibility for any content supported by the European Media and Information Fund lies with the author(s) and it may not necessarily reflect the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.




Truth Talks: Disinformation in France

🇱🇻 How does Latvia resist Russian disinformation while rebuilding trust in media and democracy?

In this episode, we speak with Anete Bērzkalne, fact-checker and disinformation researcher at Latvijas Radio, about Latvia’s complex battle with fake news—from NATO myths to narratives of “oppression” targeting Russian-speaking communities.

🔍 Topics include:
	•	May 9 and the divide over historical memory
	•	Disinformation about NATO, the EU, Ukraine, and Latvian sovereignty
	•	Russian-language influence and “compatriot” propaganda
	•	Populist politicians amplifying fake news
	•	Latvia’s systemic response: bans, media literacy, and deepfake legislation

🎧 “Disinformation doesn’t say ‘support Russia’—it says ‘don’t support Ukraine”.

The sole responsibility for any content supported by the European Media and Information Fund lies with the author(s) and it may not necessarily reflect the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.



Truth Talks: Disinformation in Latvia

Ukraine Under Disinformation Fire: How Russia Targets Trust in Zelensky and the Ukrainian Army

In this episode of Truth Talks, we speak with Nazar Glamazda from Gwara Media about Ukraine’s information landscape. What disinformation narratives is Russia pushing? Are Ukrainians still vulnerable to fake news? How does the Ukrainian fact-checking ecosystem work? And why is the Kremlin now more interested in targeting the West than Ukraine itself?

🎙️ Host: Karolina Zbytniewska

The sole responsibility for any content supported by the European Media and Information Fund lies with the author(s) and it may not necessarily reflect the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.

Truth Talks: Disinformation in Ukraine

Podcast Europejski to aktualne wiadomości z Polski, Europy i świata. Najważniejsze wydarzenia polityczne, społeczne i kulturowe komentowane są przez dziennikarzy redakcji EURACTIV.pl oraz zaproszonych ekspertów.

Truth Talks: Disinformation in Malta

Podcast Europejski EURACTIV.pl

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