The second episode of our podcast series Foreign Authoritarian-State Disinformation: Global Perspectives is out now! The initiative is supported by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs with Meridian International Center as the implementing partner.
In this installment, Dr. Rumena Filipova talks to international media specialist, Anneli Ahonen. She has a longstanding experience in developing democratic responses to disinformation on the international level. Ms. Ahonen has followed closely Russia’s disinformation around the invasion of Ukraine. Prior to that, she worked at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue as a senior fellow during the German Federal election in 2021. Until summer 2021, Anneli Ahonen was the Head of the East Stratcom Task Force at the European External Action Service. She led the team’s work on strategic communication in the Eastern Partnership countries and the EU’s response to Russia’s disinformation, including running the EUvs.Disinfo campaign. Earlier Ms. Ahonen worked as a journalist for ten years, out of which in the period between 2009 and 2016 in St. Petersburg for the biggest Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.
Tune in to the conversation to hear more about:
- The best practices of EU strategic communications.
- The next policy frontiers in moderating disinformation on social media.
- What makes audiences vulnerable to Russian disinformation.
- The key features of Kremlin propagandist activities in Finland, particularly in the context of Helsinki’s decision to join NATO.
- Advice for journalists in an age of disinformation.