What a Human-Centred Approach Reveals About Disinformation Policies: The Baltic Case

The Baltic countries’ responses to disinformation are widely recognized for their effectiveness in balancing “hard” and “soft” approaches while upholding democratic values (Bleyer-Simon et al., 2024). This article argues for additional efforts and more focused approaches to sustain societal resilien...

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Main Authors: Auksė Balčytienė, Agnese Dāvidsone, Andra Siibak
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cogitatio 2025-05-01
Series:Media and Communication
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/9548
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author Auksė Balčytienė
Agnese Dāvidsone
Andra Siibak
author_facet Auksė Balčytienė
Agnese Dāvidsone
Andra Siibak
author_sort Auksė Balčytienė
collection DOAJ
description The Baltic countries’ responses to disinformation are widely recognized for their effectiveness in balancing “hard” and “soft” approaches while upholding democratic values (Bleyer-Simon et al., 2024). This article argues for additional efforts and more focused approaches to sustain societal resilience amid increasing geopolitical uncertainties and national political and economic risks, resulting in challenges of a more “epistemic character,” such as growing information-related vulnerabilities, informational inequalities, and polarization. To expose inconsistencies and gaps in the current strategies and agendas for countering disinformation, the article proposes a human-centred approach based on the critical realist framework elaborated by Margareth Archer (1995, 2020). While Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have advanced beyond mere risk awareness in their national policies, this article argues that a more targeted approach is necessary—one that goes beyond the protective logic of securitization and toward evidence-informed awareness of the divergences and information-related inequalities among people.
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issn 2183-2439
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spelling doaj-art-a4ea8dee052a4e72866cd89177ba79ff2025-08-20T03:48:14ZengCogitatioMedia and Communication2183-24392025-05-0113010.17645/mac.95484171What a Human-Centred Approach Reveals About Disinformation Policies: The Baltic CaseAuksė Balčytienė0Agnese Dāvidsone1Andra Siibak2Department of Public Communications, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania / Vytautas Kavolis Transdisciplinary Research Institute, Vytautas Magnus University, LithuaniaInstitute of Humanities, Economics and Social Sciences Research, Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences, LatviaInstitute of Social Studies, University of Tartu, EstoniaThe Baltic countries’ responses to disinformation are widely recognized for their effectiveness in balancing “hard” and “soft” approaches while upholding democratic values (Bleyer-Simon et al., 2024). This article argues for additional efforts and more focused approaches to sustain societal resilience amid increasing geopolitical uncertainties and national political and economic risks, resulting in challenges of a more “epistemic character,” such as growing information-related vulnerabilities, informational inequalities, and polarization. To expose inconsistencies and gaps in the current strategies and agendas for countering disinformation, the article proposes a human-centred approach based on the critical realist framework elaborated by Margareth Archer (1995, 2020). While Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have advanced beyond mere risk awareness in their national policies, this article argues that a more targeted approach is necessary—one that goes beyond the protective logic of securitization and toward evidence-informed awareness of the divergences and information-related inequalities among people.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/9548agencybaltic countriescountering disinformationdisinformationgovernanceinformational inequalitymedia literacyrisk awarenessvulnerability
spellingShingle Auksė Balčytienė
Agnese Dāvidsone
Andra Siibak
What a Human-Centred Approach Reveals About Disinformation Policies: The Baltic Case
Media and Communication
agency
baltic countries
countering disinformation
disinformation
governance
informational inequality
media literacy
risk awareness
vulnerability
title What a Human-Centred Approach Reveals About Disinformation Policies: The Baltic Case
title_full What a Human-Centred Approach Reveals About Disinformation Policies: The Baltic Case
title_fullStr What a Human-Centred Approach Reveals About Disinformation Policies: The Baltic Case
title_full_unstemmed What a Human-Centred Approach Reveals About Disinformation Policies: The Baltic Case
title_short What a Human-Centred Approach Reveals About Disinformation Policies: The Baltic Case
title_sort what a human centred approach reveals about disinformation policies the baltic case
topic agency
baltic countries
countering disinformation
disinformation
governance
informational inequality
media literacy
risk awareness
vulnerability
url https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/9548
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