The Institute

Politically motivated fake news and deliberate attempts to influence journalists’ reporting have led to a dramatic change in the information and truth content of news. Corona, the Ukraine war and the associated petrification of political, economic and cultural structures will essentially determine the future values of journalism. In addition, there is a self-praising but non-reflective small but determining group of journalists in social media. But the rapid and uncontrollable spread of conspiracy theories is also destroying the truth content of information. Journalism has thus slid into the greatest crisis in its history.

Allegedly independent non-governmental organizations, such as think tanks founded and financed by NATO or Russia, also try to influence Austrian journalists in their own sense and thus directly influence reporting, including that of the public broadcaster ORF. The case of Julian Assange clearly shows how strongly American, British and Swedish secret services influence and have influenced reporting worldwide with lies and deception, according to the motto: “who would believe a rapist”? U.S. information on the wars in Vietnam, Korea and the Gulf were mostly taken over uncritically by journalists, since it was all about “defending Western values”. In the Ukraine war, many journalists are happy to take over information from Kiev directly without checking it, while statements from Moscow and Beijing are immediately questioned. The partisanship of journalism is increasing, its independence is decreasing.

The task of the “International Media Institute” is the scientific reappraisal of the phenomena of state-controlled fake news and false “citizen” information, the information of the public about the background, the tasks of the troll factories and the thus increasingly important protection of the freedom of the press and the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens in the field of information to document and demonstrate.

The association, whose activity is not aimed at profit, aims at and promotes, in the sense of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights AEMR of the United Nations, the cooperation of media professionals with special attention to the comprehensive, truthful information of consumers, especially in online media, radio and television, as well as in print media. In addition to a scientific activity, the Institute also has the task of producing media about the results of scientific work in the field of online, audio, video and print. Furthermore, the cooperation among journalists worldwide, also across social, political and cultural borders, is to be organized or promoted and thus new media formats are to be produced.

The IIM strives for close cooperation with universities, research institutions, media companies, journalist organizations and journalists. The IIM will not allow itself to be appropriated by any party, organization or government.