Modern democracy confronts a profound challenge: social media, AI, and coordinated campaigns rapidly spread disinformation, manipulative narratives, and incitement, reshaping the information ecosystem. Accelerated news cycles, disproportionate targeting of marginalized groups, and regulatory lags further erode societal resilience. Israel’s democracy faces intensifying pressures from disinformation, manipulation, and institutional erosion, exacerbated by polarization, regulatory gaps, and societal divides. These challenges heighten risks ahead of the October 2026 elections, where false narratives and media alignments could undermine electoral integrity. Independent journalism, media literacy, and fact-checking are thus essential to bolster resilience and democratic norms.
On January 30, the 6th Independent Journalism Conference at Ariela House, Tel Aviv’s central library, served as an effective platform for fostering dialogue among over 500 attendees including journalists, researchers, activists, and policymakers. Organised by ISOC-IL, the Seventh Eye, and the Union of Journalists, the event shared knowledge and insights from ISOC-IL’s Disinformation Resilience Israel (DRI) project. The lectures, panels, and practical workshops advanced discourse on misinformation risks, best practices, strategies, and methodologies.
The conference program (available below in English) included key sessions that covered critical topics. These included “The battle for truth in social media: How do we agree about the facts in a reality of polarization and incitement?”; “Does the Israeli media still serve as the watchdog for Israeli democracy?”; “Behind the scenes of the Qatargate Scandal”; and “Censorship and Self-Censorship: How the Israeli media covered the longest war”, examining self-censorship and government pressures on press freedom.
EU Ambassador to Israel Michael Mann opened the conference, recalling Article 11 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which enshrines press freedom and media pluralism: “For us, a free press is not a luxury of stable times. It is a necessity precisely in moments of crisis, polarisation, war and rapid technological change,” he stated.
Nitsan Yasur, ISOC-IL’s Disinformation and Digital Investigations Lead, led a workshop on fact-checking, online verification, digital investigations, and identifying AI-generated content. It attracted over 120 participants and covered digital tools for online research and social media investigations.
Edan Ring, VP of Community Affairs at ISOC-IL, led the panel discussion on dealing with disinformation and immunity to online influence: “How do we agree on the facts in a reality of polarization and incitement?” Click below to watch the recording.
The conference reinforced and deepened existing partnerships while successfully integrating new stakeholders – including EU representatives, academic institutions, civil society and independent media outlets – into Israel’s disinformation resilience efforts. Marked by high engagement and dynamic participation, the event substantially expanded the Disinformation Resilience Israel (DRI) project’s network and momentum for sustained collaboration.
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