April 18, 2021 - The Electronic Media Agency (AEM) and UNICEF Croatia will organize Media Literacy Days on April 19-25, focusing on the impact of media on the mental health of children and adolescents.

"Apart from mental health, the event will focus also on the current problem of misinformation and fake news, influencers and generally the development of critical thinking about media content as well as ways to better understand how different types of media function," the AEM said.

It noted that these topics are dealt with in new educational materials, which it will be possible to download from the web portal, where materials published in past years are also available for teachers and parents.

The project is supported, as in previous years, by the ministries of culture and media and science and education.

The purpose of the project is to raise public awareness of the importance of media literacy, empower citizens with media literacy skills, create a platform for cooperation among numerous social stakeholders, develop sustainable media literacy projects, and support teachers by developing education material for media literacy, the AEM said.

Considering the coronavirus pandemic, the event will largely be held online.

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ZAGREB, 5 April, 2021 - The Agency for Electronic Media (AEM) has released an analysis of the use of the Fund for the Promotion of Electronic Media Pluralism and Diversity from 2016 to 2019, from which a total of HRK 147 million was allocated to publishers.

In the analysed period, radio broadcasters received the most, HRK 69.5 million, while television broadcasters got HRK 65.5 million. Electronic publications (web portals) received about HRK 6.5 million, and non-profit audiovisual producers about HRK 6.1 million, the AEM said.

Broken down by type of publisher, the average annual subsidy for the 2016-2019 period was HRK 132,817 per radio broadcaster, HRK 819,924 per television broadcaster, HRK 72,392 per electronic publication and HRK 117,235 per non-profit audiovisual producer.

Analysing the Fund's subsidies as a percentage of publishers' revenue in 2019, 46.6% of radio broadcasters received subsidies amounting to 10% to 19% of their revenue, and 35% of radio broadcasters received subsidies in the amount of 20% to 40% of their revenue and more.

Also, 45% of television broadcasters received subsidies amounting to 19% of their revenue, and another 45% received subsidies between 20% and 39% of their revenue, which indicates that television broadcasters depend more than radio broadcasters on the fund's subsidies to produce non-commercial programme content.

Most funding for public information service, culture and children

Overall, over 86% of publishers said they were satisfied or generally satisfied with the Fund, 9.74% were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied and 3.9% were generally dissatisfied. No one was very dissatisfied with the Fund.

An analysis of all eight public tenders launched by the Fund in that period shows that of the HRK 147,895,684 distributed, as much as 51.47% was allocated to three of the Fund's 16 programme categories.

Public information received 31.92% or about HRK 47.2 million, culture and heritage 11.01% or about 16.2 million, and children and young people 8.54% or more than HRK 12.6 million.

The next five categories: gender equality, upbringing and education, national minorities, cultural events and health promotion received 28.95% of subsidies or over HRK 42.8 million.

The remaining eight categories: Croatian dialects, art development, people with disabilities, environmental protection, Homeland War, media literacy and gender issues received 19.58% or slightly more than HRK 28.9 million.

"The analysis of the social impact of the Fund for the Promotion of Pluralism and Diversity for the 2016-2019 period has shown that the Fund's existence is more than justified," the AEM said.

(€1 = HRK 7.569509)

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ZAGREB, October 11, 2020 - Electronic Media Agency president Josip Popovac says the majority of Croatian media have been covering the coronavirus pandemic excellently, without a proliferation of fake news.

"I thank the media for their professionalism, the feeling for the community and the way in which they became involved in the fight against the pandemic," he has said recently.

At the start of the coronavirus crisis in mid-March, the Agency and the Electronic Media Council issued a warning to all electronic media in the country aimed at protecting the public interest, banning all audiovisual services which released or spread disinformation about public health.

Publishing or spreading disinformation causes concern, spreads fear and panic in the population and leads to even more difficult consequences than the ones we are faced with, they said.

The warning underlined that the Council, in line with its powers, would severely punish the releasing or spreading of disinformation.

In early April, following a query by Hina, the Electronic Media Agency reported on the first results of a stepped up oversight of electronic and other media which showed, despite fears by many media experts, that there had been no "infodemic" of fake news.

Popovac: The media have done a great job during the pandemic

By then, only 13 complaints about reporting on coronavirus had been received, including nine referring to disinformation and fake news.

Popovac says the complaints were not just about fake news but also about interpretations which were in line with freedom of speech and democratic standards. "We haven't had any attack, deliberate causing of panic and fake news, and we are very proud of that. The media have done a great job."

He says there have been incidents on social media, which is out of the Agency's control, but that the media have done and are doing their job professionally.

Popovac says not every piece of disinformation can be treated equally as it depends on who it harms and how much, adding that one needs to be very flexible, notably when there are no consequences, major societal divisions or harm to individuals or society. "I think minor disinformation is prevalent in Croatia, a consequence of speed and non-deliberate mistakes which can be corrected with a retraction." 

Popovac says it is difficult to legally punish fake news by a general regulation, adding that there exists legal protection from disinformation and that a decision on that is made by a court.

Experts warn that many things are vague regarding regulations and decisions which punish disinformation, notably in Croatia.

Levak: Legal and media regulations still inadequate

The European Union and some other countries have tried in recent years to create effective regulations to crack down on the production and spreading of fake news. However, legal and media regulations are still inadequate, says Tomislav Levak, a candidate for a doctorate in communicology at the Osijek Academy of Art and Culture.

He says these regulations lag behind the problem at least as much the spreading of true and verified information lags behind the much faster and more effective spreading of fake content.

The situation in Croatia is quite problematic as the Media Act and the Electronic Media Act barely address new media and communication platforms, Levak says, adding that their regulation should be the basis for attempting to solve this problem.

Croatia has not come even close to adequately regulating the prosecution of persons and institutions that release disinformation, he says, adding that the law on misdemeanors against the public order and peace that is in force was adopted in 1977 and last amended in 1994.

Current punishment for fake news is DEM 50-200 or 30 days' imprisonment

That law stipulates that anyone making up or spreading fake news which disturb the peace and tranquility of citizens will be fined the national currency equivalent of 50 to 200 German marks or placed in prison for up to 30 days, Levak says.

The situation, according to the government, should be improved by a bill on unacceptable behaviour on the Internet which should regulate and define accountability for content published online, Levak says. "Although its adoption was announced in September 2019, it hasn't been adopted nor is there, as far as I know, a draft."

Renowned attorney and media law expert Vesna Alaburic calls for caution in amending legislation which regulates freedom of expression only due to a rise in fake news.

She says the spreading of fake news in itself must not be subject to any restrictions in a democracy if it does not cause serious harm which would justify restricting freedom of expression and punishment.

The fact that spreading fake news which disturb the peace and tranquility of citizens is punishable as a misdemeanor in Croatia is enough, Alaburic adds.

For decades, penal codes included disturbing the public and spreading fake news as offences which were used for score-settling with political opponents or those criticising the authorities, she says, adding that those provisions were removed after strong criticism.

Alaburic says the current legislation is good in principle and she has reservations about the possibility of adopting a law on unacceptable behaviour on the Internet.

Alaburic: Only courts should rule on violations

She says she is not familiar with that initiative and that only courts should rule on violations. "Self-regulation can be used to establish certain rules of conduct but in that case it's important to ensure judicial oversight."

Popovac warns about problems if that law is adopted, notably the possible establishment of a kind of Internet police which would oversee "unacceptable behaviour."

He says it is necessary to be cautious in formulating provisions because freedom of speech, press, publishing and expression is the foundation of a democracy. Once something is banned, when censorship takes hold, there is no going back, he adds.

We should focus more on media literacy and educating new as well as older generations for "driving on the Internet," and we are doing that, he says, underlining the exceptional importance of journalists and professional media during the coronavirus pandemic as well as the fake news infodemic.

"The commitment of all media employees who constantly reported and are reporting is fantastic. They have always been on the scene, consciously risking infection. Together with the medical staff, whose contribution has been the largest, the contribution of journalists and other media employees was and remains crucial," says Popovac.