Draft law on creation of national centre for information defence, countering propaganda subjected to public consultations in Moldova

Chisinau, 30 May /MOLDPRES/ - The draft law on the creation of the national Centre for information defence and countering the propaganda – Patriot – has been subjected to public consultations. Proposals for improving the quality of the document can be submitted till 9 June. The presidential institution made statements to this effect today.     

According to the draft subjected to public consultations, the newly created Centre will be an independent public authority, which will work nationally as a single structure. It will have the task to consolidate the inter-institutional efforts in the fight against misinformation and coordinated actions of dissemination of messages which pose danger or can jeopardize the national interests.   

Among the duties of the new institution, there will be the development of mechanisms of combating the misinformation, developing communication means between the state and the citizens, comprehensive assessment of the public information space, ensuring the exchange of information with the state’s authorities and institutions, familiarizing the wide public with the information which represents misinformation, elaboration and implementation of a coordinated ensemble of  actions and initiatives, the goal of which is to verify the truthfulness of the deeds and convey factual information to the wide public.      

The Centre will be led by a director, selected based on a public contest and appointed to office by parliament, at a proposal by Moldova’s president, for a five-year mandate, with the possibility to be appointed for another mandate. 

The Centre’s work is suggested to be financed from state budget allocations, financial means earmarked by donors, including through programmes on foreign financial assistance and other legal sources.

The initiative on the setting up of a national Centre for information defence and countering the propaganda, symbolically called Patriot, was announced by President Maia Sandu on 29 May. The head of state reasoned the need to create the new institution by the fact that the propaganda was a direct threat to Moldova’s security and endangered the free, democratic and prosperous future of the country.