Centre for Civic Education (CCE) notes that the latest edition of the Media Literacy Index, published by the Open Society Institute, records some progress for Montenegro. However, this improvement remains far from sufficient given the challenges the society faces. Despite its formal advancement in the ranking, Montenegro remains among countries with limited resilience to disinformation, pointing to structural weaknesses in education, media freedom, and social trust.
The Media Literacy Index is calculated by combining the quality of education, the level of media freedom, interpersonal trust, and e-participation, i.e. citizens’ engagement in the digital sphere. As a tool measuring societies’ capacity to resist disinformation, so-called “post-truth” narratives, and information manipulation, the Index reflects a pronounced geopolitical and developmental divide across Europe.
This year’s top position is shared by Denmark, Finland, Ireland and the Netherlands, each scoring 71 out of a maximum of 100 points, confirming the strength of their education systems and high levels of media freedom. In contrast, Western Balkan countries remain in the lower part of the ranking, reflecting long-standing challenges in key areas covered by the Index. Among neighbouring countries, Croatia is the highest ranked, placing 24th with 47 points.
Montenegro ranks 26th this year with 44 points. Serbia is ranked 32nd with 35 points, Bosnia and Herzegovina 37th with 24 points, Albania and North Macedonia share 39th and 40th place with 19 points each, while Kosovo is ranked last with 16 points.
Montenegro is placed in the third cluster of countries, while Serbia falls into the fourth – both groups include transitional countries facing risks of both progress and regression. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, North Macedonia, and Kosovo are classified in the fifth cluster, identified as the most vulnerable to disinformation. It is also highlighted that these countries are particularly exposed due to not being EU members, which deprives them of certain institutional safeguards while making them more susceptible to external influence, including from China and Russia, which seek to expand their presence in the region surrounding EU borders.
Compared to the previous measurement in 2023, while other countries in the region have dropped by one position, Montenegro has made progress – moving from 33rd to 26th place, marking its best result since the Index was first introduced. The first measurement was conducted in 2017, when Montenegro ranked 31st out of 35 countries.
Nevertheless, despite the increase in points (from 29 to 44), this progress is not sufficient to significantly narrow the gap with the European average or the most advanced societies in this field. A substantial gap remains between Montenegro and the most resilient European countries, both in terms of media freedom and citizens’ capacity to critically assess information and recognize disinformation. Viewed in a broader regional context, Western Balkan countries clearly share similar challenges – low quality of education, limited media freedom, and low levels of social trust. This situation points to a systemic issue, as media literacy is a key indicator of democratic quality. Low levels of media literacy increase vulnerability to disinformation campaigns, deepen polarization, and weaken citizens’ resilience to manipulative content.
At a time when digital platforms and complex information ecosystems shape the public sphere, media literacy is becoming one of the key pillars of democratic resilience. For societies aspiring to European standards of democratic governance, this represents a serious warning and underscores the need for strategic investment in media and digital education, strengthening independent and professional media, and rebuilding public trust in reliable sources of information.