Moldovan president proposes setting up national information defense and propaganda countering center

Chisinau, May 29. /MOLDPRES/- President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu announced today she will submit a legislative initiative on creation of a national information defense and propaganda countering center symbolically named "Patriot".

"I announce the legislative initiative to create an institution to combat propaganda harmful to the state and defend citizens from manipulation and constant propaganda attacks. I will propose to the Parliament for adoption the creation of the national information defense and countering propaganda center symbolically named "Patriot". The center will have the mission to coordinate and implement the state policy in the information security and to ensure strategic communication in order to identify, prevent and combat disinformation at the national level", said Maia Sandu.

The head of state argued the need for the creation of the new institution by the fact that since Russia started the war against Ukraine, the attacks against the Republic of Moldova have intensified. "They are constantly trying to pull our country into an orbit of the past, into a dark area with no development perspective. Only because of the resistance of the Ukrainians, Russia cannot attack our country militarily, but it constantly attacks it informationally, through lies, propaganda, disinformation. Propaganda is a direct threat to the security of the country and endangers the free, democratic and prosperous future of Moldova. Unfortunately, we have well-established individuals and networks, paid with dirty money, who serve foreign interests and have only one role - to create fakes, propagate the Kremlin's lies and block Moldova's path to the EU," said Maia Sandu.

The new institution would have two basic responsibilities. The first refers to the transmission of truthful information to the public, ensuring a constant dialogue with citizens and collaboration with state institutions in order to promote national interests and increase society's resistance to disinformation. The second responsibility of the new institution is to identify, assess and combat disinformation, to eliminate the risks generated by hybrid threats and disinformation on national security.

The draft law aimed at the creation of the "Patriot" Center will be published tomorrow for public consultation, and by late June it will be sent to the Parliament.