ZAGREB, 23 June (Hina) - The project "Medically Verified" (Medicinski potvrđeno", in Croatian) , led by the Faculty of Medicine in Osijek, is one of the first initiatives in Croatia dedicated to fact-checking medical and health-related information in the media.

The project addresses the growing concern that misinformation in these areas can endanger individual and public health and erode trust in the healthcare system.

In recent years, there has been a dramatic rise in the volume of health-related content in the public sphere.

However, disinformation has also spread rapidly, largely due to the internet and social media, which allow for the fast distribution of content often without proper verification of accuracy or credibility, the Faculty’s administration notes.

In response to this, the Agency for Electronic Media, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Media, launched a call for funding fact-checking projects through EU funds. The goal was to support the verification of different types of public information.

According to Dr. Ines Drenančević, project leader and Vice Dean of the Osijek Faculty of Medicine (MEFOS), the project involves professors from the faculty, media experts, and representatives of patient associations from the very beginning.

As part of the "Medically Verified" project, the first Croatian Media Guide featuring tools for verifying health and medical information was recently published.

According to the Osijek Faculty of Medicine (MEFOS), the need for such a guide became evident in light of the media being flooded with false, inaccurate, and often malicious health-related content, which can seriously endanger both individual and public health.

Until now, no such resource existed in the Croatian media landscape. In response, a group of university professors—serving as reviewers and collaborators on the project—developed the guide to address this gap.