Media education the key against fake news – Swiss experience compared to Kosovo, Prita Bytyqi speaks

In a new episode of The Geotalk podcast, the topic of propaganda narratives, disinformation, and fake news was addressed, with a particular focus on the comparison between Switzerland and Kosovo.

Guest on this episode was editor at Albinfo and lecturer at the University of St. Gallen, Prita Bytyqi, who shared her experience on how Swiss society and institutions deal with the phenomenon of disinformation.

During the conversation, Bytyqi emphasized that Switzerland, despite its institutional and political stability, is not immune to fake news, but according to her, their impact is more limited compared to other countries.

"Switzerland is also affected by fake news, but perhaps less than other countries," she said, adding that media education that starts at an early age in schools plays a key role.

According to her, in Switzerland, students learn early on the difference between accurate, partial, and manipulated information, including the concepts of disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation.

Bytyqi emphasized that this structured approach helps citizens be more critical of the content they consume, especially during election periods, when the spread of inaccurate news usually increases.

Another important element, according to her, is the high trust of Swiss citizens in the public broadcaster and traditional media.

She also mentioned the financial model of public media in Switzerland, where citizens contribute through an annual tax, thus ensuring independence and higher quality in journalism.

"Citizens have voted not to reduce the public media fee, for the sake of preserving verified and investigative journalism," she said.

Speaking about social networks, Bytyqi emphasized that in Switzerland they have less influence compared to other countries, such as Kosovo or the USA, where platforms like Facebook and X dominate the public space.

However, she warned that artificial intelligence and the speed of information dissemination are making it increasingly difficult to verify news.

In the discussion section on Kosovo and the region, Bytyqi said that propaganda narratives are often linked to political, historical tensions and migration issues, while the lack of political stability creates more space for disinformation.

According to her, a large part of the problems are related to the fact that citizens often consume news from social networks without verifying the sources.

Giving recommendations, Bytyqi emphasized that Kosovo does not need major structural changes to begin the fight against disinformation, but rather to integrate media education into the education system.

"News verification can be taught in some existing subjects, such as language, information technology or English," she said, adding that this would help in forming critical readers and more informed citizens.

This discussion took place as part of The Geopost's podcast series, which addresses topics related to disinformation, propaganda, and geopolitical influences in the region's information space.