The introductory lecture on “Media and secret services. Outlines of a complex relationship” was held by Dr. Christopher Nehring on 20th of October 2021. Dr. Christopher Nehring is a recognized expert on media, disinformation and intelligence.
The lecture began with opening remarks by the Dean of the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” Prof. Dr. Vesselina Valkanova, the Head of the KAS Media Programme South East Europe, Hendrik Sittig, and the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Republic of Bulgaria, Christoph Eichhorn.
“Disinformation and fake news threaten our democratic society. Today, through the Internet and especially through social networks, they gain an even broader and stronger assertiveness. For us as journalists this is a big problem. You know - quality journalism is based on credibility and trust. Today, however, that is constantly being called into question”, said Hendrik Sittig, Head of the KAS Media Programme South East Europe.
The main topic of the lecture was the relationship between the media and the secret services with a special focus on disinformation. Dr. Nehring emphasised that the digital age is not only an age of information and freedom of information, but also of disinformation, the new censorship, manipulation and covert influence.
Using numerous examples, Dr. Nehring expounded that the methods of digital investigative journalism are similar to those of the secret services. According to him, various functions can be observed in the relationship between the media and secret services, such as control and surveillance, cooperation, information acquisition, manipulation and disinformation and others. He also distinguished “surveillance” and “control” as key terms when analysing the relationship between the media and the intelligence services – in this context there are also some similarities between the two actors, although it is an unequal power relationship in favour of the intelligence services, said Dr. Nehring. He emphasized that a new digital method for disinformation and manipulation of media is the mass distribution of manipulative information on the Internet.
So what do secret services and the media have in common and where do they enter into cooperative relationships with each other?, What influence does digitalisation have on these relationships?, Why are disinformation, active measures and actions of influence experiencing a renaissance today? – these are some of the basic questions that were not only discussed in the lecture, but also serve as the basis of the key points and contents of his guest lectureship at the University of Sofia.
The introductory lecture marked the beginning of lectures and seminars by Dr. Christopher Nehring as a guest lecturer in the course of an Adenauer Fellowship within the winter semester at the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.
