Case Study: Nataša Kilibarda – Battling Disinformation in the Western Balkans 

“Everyone who makes public claims should be a fact-checker,” says Nataša Kilibarda, a fact checker. The open source intelligence (OSINT) analyst and digital forensics expert at Istinomer/ Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA) in Serbia came to her career through a deep-seated belief in truth, transparency and accountability.

The media landscape in the Western Balkans is challenging. Nataša and her team face a daily barrage of disinformation from pro-Russian groups on Telegram, conspiracy theorists on Facebook, and anti-vaccination movements across social media platforms. To counter these, she and her colleagues use an array of tools.

“We always recommend reverse image search as a go-to for checking potential recycled content (old photos and videos taken out of context), misleading or completely fabricated information,” she explains. A reverse image search is a technique that allows you to search the internet using an image instead of text. The engine then searches for similar images across the web and provides results that match or are related to your image. “Other tools include archiving, geo-location, photo forensics, DNS and domain data checks, Telegram and social media analysis tools, license plate databases, sun positioning during the day, and many more.”

Time constraints and burn out 

Being time poor in the face of a mountain of fake news is one of Nataša’s biggest challenges. As she points out, there is a “lack of time to promptly address the amount of disinformation that is almost daily disseminated in the online media space in our region. Also, the inability to hold political figures accountable for their statements on social media platforms.” 

All this has an inevitable impact on her mental health and wellbeing.

“Vicarious trauma and burnout are issues we increasingly struggle with,” she explains. “Awareness and acceptance within the organisation that these are real challenges our job brings, along with appropriate work distribution, psychological support, working from home, and taking breaks, help.” 

Despite these difficulties, Nataša remains dedicated to impartiality, continually reassessing claims to combat confirmation bias.

Stamping out COVID conspiracy theories 

Nataša’s razor-sharp eye and persistence have paid off time and again. Successfully pre-bunking, that is, “informing citizens before some disinformation gains traction” is one of her most fulfilling achievements. Others include: “Everything related to the anti-vaccination narrative, specifically that COVID vaccines cause miscarriages. Another significant example was a photo of an injured woman from Ukraine, which was falsely claimed in our region to be staged using ‘crisis actors’. We debunked it on multiple grounds, proving it to be true.” 

For Nataša, fact-checking is an indispensable step, but the way it’s carried out and communicated needs to be nuanced. “My personal and professional opinion is that we still need fact-checking, but ‘dry’ debunking is not enough, as the audience is tired of a simple true-false perspective,” she says. “Everything needs context; we need a spin check, not just fact-checking. Pre-bunking, media, digital, and algorithmic literacy offered to both journalists and the general public is almost absolutely necessary now.” 

Embrace AI 

Nataša’s advice to fellow journalists and fact-checkers echoes her proactive approach at work. “Be as technically literate as possible, focus on education on how to use certain tools (OSINT), embrace AI and AI-based tools,” she urges. “Focus on specific platforms and groups (e.g., Telegram), regularly monitor them, and record their content and impact, as well as their interconnections. Create a database and contact list of experts available for fact-checking topics.” 

It’s a long list of essential tips, but it doesn’t end there. Nataša also has some top tips and predictions for media in the West Balkans:

“My advice to the media in our region is that no one likes to be deceived by disinformation and fake news, but the general public’s attention is at an all-time low, balancing between the desire for relevant information, entertainment, education, and the need to avoid any ‘political’ content on networks. Desensitization to important topics (including disinformation) will become a burning issue if it isn’t already.” 

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