On 26 March 2024, the Embassy of Latvia in Finland organised a discussion on regional media cooperation in the fight against disinformation and division of society.
The discussion was attended by Salla Vuorikoski, Head of Investigative Journalism at Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest newspaper, Inga Spriņģe, founder of Re:Baltica and journalist, and Gunta Sloga, Executive Director of the Baltic Centre for Media Excellence. The discussion was moderated by journalist Gunta Sloga.
The media professionals talked about international media cooperation projects, including those in the Nordic and Baltic regions, and their contribution to reducing the polarisation of society and threats on the internet. The audience learnt about the tools of investigative journalism in the region and the challenges of responsible journalism in wartime. They also discussed whether innovation and international cooperation in investigative journalism would be able to halt the destructive trends that have been reinforced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The journalists also pointed to self-censorship tendencies in journalists’ work, as well as the problem of silencing public debate.
The target audience included representatives of Finnish ministries and administrations, the diplomatic corps, media representatives, students and policy researchers.
The event was part of the public diplomacy programme in support of the lobbying campaign for Latvia’s candidacy for the UN Security Council.