In an era where disinformation is a persistent threat to democratic societies, understanding its complex and evolving nature is crucial for the resilience of civil society organizations (CSOs) and the wider society.
As part of the ongoing Digital Activism Program, led by TechSoup in collaboration with regional partners, we present the 2023-2024 Disinformation and Civil Society Regional Mapping Reports. These reports focus on four key regions in Central and Eastern Europe: the Western Balkans, the Visegrad Region, the Black Sea Region, and the Baltics. Each report provides a comprehensive analysis of the disinformation trends, the impact of external actors, the war in Ukraine, and the unique challenges faced by CSOs in these regions, as well as the needs they have in order to effectively carry out their mission.
1. Resources, resources, resources
Being understaffed is one of the more acute challenges that organizations all around the CEE are experiencing, regardless of their size, target groups and thematic areas they are focusing on. As with other needs and gaps identified in the research, the largest challenge, the root cause of most of the problems are issues related to funding. Available financial support is limited and results in increased competition between the organizations. Having little funds, they are unable to offer competitive salaries and attract younger workers. The situation in which they are unable to secure funding for a longer period of time (years instead of months) makes it impossible to create and implement long-term strategies, which could improve the impact of their work, as well as put them in danger of having to apply for funds that are available, that reflect the donors needs rather than the ones that align with organizations' mission and vision. Ageing staff often lacks technological competencies, and PR and communication skills. Not having enough workforce, the organizations rely on their burdened employees or volunteers to maintain high engagement, often resulting in burnout and a sense of disillusionment among the staff. Working in CSOs means facing a highly demanding and stressful work environment.
There's also little space to work on relationship building (with the donors, other organizations and stakeholders) both because of always more pressing day-to-day issues, as well as lack of skills on how to do it effectively.
Source of funding: CSOs in the Balkans and Hungary mostly rely on foreign funding, whereas Czech organizations compete for the public funds on which they heavily rely.
Young talent is not interested in non-governmental work. The lack of generational turnover is particularly visible in the Baltics.
The stress of being underfunded and understaffed is enhanced by the dire social context (with the democracy backsliding, human rights under attack, etc.).
These challenges are systemic, meaning they are inherent to almost every civil society, regardless of the geographical location. It also unfortunately means that they do not have a silver bullet solution – no organization by itself will solve the challenge of financial stability or burnout. Potential interventions would require coordinated, grand-scale efforts which for most countries we looked at, seem improbable. The systemic nature of the challenges also means that they are the backdrop of the more “specific” needs and gaps.
2. Effective communication
Another important challenge almost universally voiced by the CSOs was connected to communication. Fighting other shortages and uncertain futures, it is hard for organizations to devote time and people to prepare long-term communication strategies. Moreover, competing among themselves, the CSOs find it difficult to prepare engaging content and getting through with their message outside of their bubbles. Despite not having a possibility to act on it, the organizations do recognize a need for developing a more innovative communication approach finding new formats, platforms and techniques.
There is little space for building positive narratives – there are other burning needs that come first. Crisis communication takes precedence.
Successful content production requires funds, skills, and time which many CSOs do not have. Using professional communication companies or paid marketing is usually out of reach, so CSOs tend to focus on well-known communication techniques and target audiences.
3. Digital transformation and tech&tools
“The biggest challenge is onboarding team members because digital transformation entails a change in organizational culture” is a quote that well describes the biggest challenge when it comes to CSOs' path to becoming more digitally savvy. This process requires the engagement of the whole team, and takes time and close assistance from experts which is hard to come by with limited resources.
The issue has always posed a problem, for both big and small organizations, but has recently accelerated due to the rapid development in AI technology, which poses a risk of many CSOs being left behind.
The underlying cause of challenges when it comes to digital transformation and using available tools is general digital literacy skills - which influence not just the ability to use technology but also the attitude towards it: a certain level of apprehension stems from a lack of skills and knowledge).
On a very prosaic level, which goes back to the financial situation of many organizations, is a basic lack of hardware, software and services linked to it (access to high-speed internet, cloud services) – it’s hard to talk about using AI, CRMs, data visualization tools etc. when the teams don't have access to equipment (computers, servers, and mobile devices).
In terms of online threats that many CSOs are facing throughout the region, despite what we could describe as moderate enthusiasm in learning and applying it, activists recognize that cybersecurity is a key area in which they should be fluent.
4. Specific needs
Countering disinformation and media literacy
Needs and gaps when it comes to countering disinformation differ between the organizations focusing on the topic and those who work in different thematic areas. However, considering how prevalent the threat and its consequences are, the need to improve is universal.
Among experts in countering disinformation, regardless of the country they’re working in, the biggest challenges remain to be financial resources which are clearly linked to staff – experts, specialists, etc. They also raised the issue of a need for more awareness-raising campaigns targeting wider audiences and teaching them about the dangers linked to disinformation.
When it comes to organizations that are not directly working on countering disinformation but are however the targets of it or have to deal with its consequences (polarization, rising negative attitudes towards vulnerable groups in the society, etc.), they expressed the need for:
innovative means and tools to fight manipulations in an organized and systematic manner
support and collaboration with other organizations dealing with similar issues
more training and skills in media literacy and countering disinformation (especially for groups heavily targeted by disinformation or under its influence, e.g. Russian-speaking minorities in the Baltics).
In terms of media literacy, they postulate for more collaboration with education institutions and a generally more comprehensive approach to teaching critical thinking was also mentioned multiple times.
Ukraine
In the research, we also focused on activists from organizations supporting Ukraine to better understand their specific needs and challenges. More than 2 years after the invasion, with the solidarity waning even among the allied countries, the biggest challenge becomes the psychological well-being - increased demand for mental health support and psychosocial assistance for both front liners and refugees. Linked to the war “fatigue” decrease in funding, staff and volunteers shortages are also at the forefront of problems CSOs have to deal with. The situation is only made worse by disinformation campaigns against Ukraine and false narratives targeting refugee support efforts. On a more systemic level, the CSOs also struggle with a lack of long-term planning and coordination with state institutions in the countries they operate.
Read our Regional Mapping Reports!
The challenges and needs that CSOs have are vast. Some systemic, some more specific but the first step in addressing them is understanding what they are exactly. To do that, read our Disinformation and Civil Society Regional Mapping Reports HERE.
