President: In cognitive war, consolidation of democracy also depends on citizens’ ability to resist manipulation

In a cognitive war, the consolidation of democracy depends not only on institutions, but also on our citizens’ ability to resist manipulation. President Maia Sandu made the statement during a high-level conference on media literacy and information integrity, held today in Chisinau.

Maia Sandu emphasized that the cognitive war is “a war that imposes efforts to hijack the way people think, what they believe in and how they act, targeting trust and perception.”

“In the Republic of Moldova we have gone through this experience, especially in recent years. During recent electoral periods, we have encountered coordinated attempts to challenge the democratic process, not only through disinformation, but also through a combination with illicit financial flows, the manipulation of narratives and other aspects aimed at distorting the public discourse,” Maia Sandu said.

She warned that this affects not only the Republic of Moldova but also other states in the region, with the aim of “reducing unity in Europe and slowing down democratic consolidation processes.”

“We must understand that the front line is no longer limited to the administrative borders of a territory. It is about our societies. And those who carry out such operations have the capacity to learn, to adapt, to change their methods. They move from one platform to another, they exploit new technologies, they disguise themselves as legitimate voices, which makes detection much more complicated,” the head of state warned.

The President stressed that, under these conditions, it is necessary to invest in resilience at the level of the whole society, and that the media and media literacy are essential.

“In a cognitive war, the consolidation of democracy depends not only on institutions, but also on our citizens’ ability to resist manipulation. And this is particularly relevant for younger generations, who are the most exposed to digital environments and, at the same time, are the most important for the future of democracies. The work of the Council of Europe in supporting national-level strategies and in developing practical tools in this field is essential,” the head of state specified.

At the end of her speech, Maia Sandu underlined that “protecting democracy means protecting the freedom of every mind to remain authentic.”

“Today’s discussions concern the type of society in which we want to live in the future. Will we allow others to shape the way our citizens think, or will we take responsibility for protecting the freedom of thought? In the end, this is what is at stake. Not just elections, not just institutions. What is at stake is the independence of human reasoning and, ultimately, protecting democracy today means protecting the freedom of every mind to remain authentic,” Maia Sandu concluded.

A High-Level Conference on media literacy and information integrity is taking place today in Chisinau, organized by the Council of Europe under the auspices of the Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe held by the Republic of Moldova.

Participants aim to explore innovative ways to combat disinformation, foreign information interference and manipulation, as well as hate speech, which erodes public trust and undermines the integrity of democratic processes across the European continent.

The conference brings together representatives of governments, international organizations, academia, civil society and the media, providing an opportunity to exchange critical experiences and to discuss specific mechanisms for building a more trustworthy information environment and for promoting media and information literacy.

The event will also include the launch of two policy documents adopted by the intergovernmental committee of the Council of Europe responsible for media and the information society, aimed at supporting states in developing national media and information literacy strategies and in taking complementary measures to combat disinformation and strengthen information integrity.