all Eigendreh

Lower thirds:

00:02 Report by Frank Hofmann
00:28 Tamar Kintsurashvili | DW Freedom of Speech Award Recipient
01:27 Stephen Capus | President, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
02:16 Peter Limbourg | DW Director-General
03:23 Marta Kos | EU Commissioner for Enlargement

Script:

A selfie with the award winner from Georgia: During this year’s Global Media Forum, Tamar Kintsurashvili received the Freedom of Speech Award from DW’s outgoing Director-General, Peter Limbourg. 

In her home country, the journalist has set up fact-checking workshops to combat Russian disinformation. For years, the Kremlin has been trying to create division in Georgia with fake news. 

+++SOT Tamar Kintsurashvili, 2025 Freedom of Speech Award Recipient ((English)) +++

It’s an acknowledgement of our work broadly and encourages our staff and all freedom fighters to continue to fight for a democratic and better Georgia. And to believe in our dreams about the European family where we historically belong.”+++

More than 900 media experts from 100 countries have convened in the western German city of Bonn to discuss the most pressing issues faced by the international media community. 

((Ambience: “Today so called western mainstream media are facing growing criticism…”)) 

Top of mind among conference-goers is Artificial Intelligence and the challenges of generative AI that has long been used for propaganda purposes. 

Participants include Stephen Capus, the president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. US international broadcasters are now fighting for their survival after budget cuts imposed by the Trump administration. 

+++SOT Stephen Capus, President Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty+++

Russia is spending a tremendous amount of money now to make sure that this disinformation, this propaganda is what comes out on the other side of these AI models. We can’t allow that to happen, we’ve got to work together, enter with the tech companies in order to figure out the right way to make sure that accurate information is the thing that’s getting through these very powerful tools.

The dynamic atmosphere and engaging exchange of ideas drive the point home: How Artificial Intelligence is changing communication and international media activity.  

On the sidelines of the Global Media Forum, DW Director-General Peter Limbourg asked politicians in Europe for more commitment: American tech firms and their social networks should pay appropriately when they use content provided by independent media. And Europe needed its own AI platform, he added. 

+++SOT Peter Limbourg, Deutsche Welle Director-General , ORIG Englisch+++

We are already in an information war. And Artificial Intelligence is one part of it. AI is used by autocrats and they feed it with content that isn’t reliable, or is false. The end result will be that the Artificial Intelligence spreads misinformation. And I think this is something we should be aware of. And we should be very interested in having a platform that is driven by reliable content, but again: It should not be governments who decide what is reliable content. It should be public service models or models coming from journalism itself – private and public. To create this common platform where people know what they get is reliable and fact-based.+++

It was particularly evident in Europe, after all, how the conflict between independent, free media and the propaganda spread by authoritarian regimes escalated. 

The European Union wants to help EU accession candidate countries in particular to fight anti-European propaganda. This was pledged by the European Enlargement Commissioner, Marta Kos from Slovenia, during her opening speech. 

+++SOT Marta Kos, EU Commissioner for Enlargement +++

It is unprecedented how Russian propaganda is aggressive, especially in Moldova. They are investing millions of euros to ensure Moldova won’t go the European way. But we have also got smarter over the past few years. So for the first time we are now deploying what we call the hybrid rapid response team from the EAS and with the experts from some member states.+++

The impact of US tech firms’ algorithms on free-flowing information and regenerative AI – key topics at this year’s Deutsche Welle’s Global Media Forum.