Today is celebrated the World Press Freedom Day – 3 May, which is being marked for 28 years in a row. The Metamorphosis Foundation congratulates this day to journalists, media workers, and all freedom of expression activists who are committed to full respect for human rights.

Free and professional media play a key role in providing citizens with knowledge and voice, exposing corruption and developing a culture of criticism where citizens are less and less afraid to question the actions of the authorities and are empowered to participate in democratic processes.

The Metamorphosis Foundation recognizes that an informed society is essential to ensuring accountability in both the public and private sectors.

According to the measurement of the international NGO “Reporters Without Borders”, the freedom of the media in the country has improved in the last few years. But there are still many challenges to be overcome.

As “Reporters Without Borders” points out in its latest 2021 report, in North Macedonia, senior government officials continue to threaten and insult the media, while cyberbullying and verbal attacks on journalists on social media are becoming more frequent.

“All of this has served to strengthen a well-established culture of impunity. At the same time, the pandemic has complicated reporting,” said Reporters Without Borders on media freedom in the country.

The Metamorphosis Foundation has long seen the negative consequences that can result from the influx of disinformation and the need for accurate, verified and credible information, which during the Covid-19 pandemic proved to be extremely important.

Last year’s Metamorphosis survey based on available data by the end of February 2020, points to the dangers of not continuing media sector reforms.

Over the past decade, Metamorphosis has developed a rich media program that in recent years has grown into a special part of the Foundation’s work called Media for Democracy.

The aim is to provide accurate information to the public based on facts. This includes the work on the media literacy education plan and the development of critical thinking through CriThink, as well as the fact-checking tool Vistinomer.mk, which is the first and currently the only member of the International Fact-Checking Network. Also, Metamorphosis is extremely committed to the accurate and verified reporting, analysis and visualization of data through the News Agency Meta.mk and the Albanian language portal, Portalb.mk.

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