Zezito da Silva, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief, Tatoli News Agency, Timor-Leste. Photo: People's Daily

The 12th ASEAN Plus Three Media Cooperation Forum was held in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian Province, on November 4. Co-hosted by the People's Daily and the People's Government of Fujian Province, the forum was held under the theme of "Openness and Cooperation for Shared Development." Zezito da Silva, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of Tatoli News Agency of Timor-Leste, delivered a keynote speech at the seminar on collaborating to counter disinformation and developing shared narratives. He believed that the forum's theme is far more than just a slogan for the media, but is a question about survival.

Zezito da Silva said that as one of the youngest nations in the world, Timor-Leste is only 22 years old, with a population of 1.4 million. Yet, the country shares the same challenge - "How do we tell the truth in a time when lies travel faster? And how do we make development truly shared?" 

Zezito da Silva stressed that media cooperation must be pragmatic and results-oriented. He gave an example. In the 2022 election, Timor-Leste experienced what many of countries might have experienced: More than 300 fake accounts appeared within two months, spreading fake photos, AI-generated videos and hate speech against female candidates. "My newsroom has five journalists. Five journalists cannot fight 300 fake accounts. No one can fight disinformation alone."

Therefore, he expressed his appreciation for the Global Southern Journalists Workshop program launched at this forum. "It is an excellent start."

Meanwhile, Zezito da Silva also proposed to take things a step further: evolving from hosting seminars and training sessions to building a Shared Fact-Checking Network - a real-time, multilingual alliance of fact-checkers from the 50 countries present here.

Zezito da Silva reasoned for his proposal. "A false photo used in Dili today will be used in Mongolia tomorrow and in Zambia next week. If we are connected on one platform - sharing tools, sharing reverse-image searches, sharing Tetun, Portuguese, Mongolian, and Chinese translators - a hoax that takes three days to debunk alone can be debunked in 30 minutes together."

Zezito da Silva also said that "Shared Development" must mean shared storytelling. "Who tells the story of the Belt and Road cooperation? Too often, it is told only by big media from big countries.

Where is the voice of the fisherwoman on Atauro Island in Timor-Leste, whose catch now reaches the market because a new road was built? Where is the voice of a small trader in Zambia? If the story is not shared, the development is not shared, 

"I sincerely hope that next year, we can welcome you to Dili. Not to see a showcase, but to stay for a week, to report with our young reporters, to tell a story in Tetun. That is real convergence." 

At the end of the speech, Zezito da Silva quoted a proverb in his language, Tetun, "Together we can, divided we fall."

"For our profession, let me adapt it: Together we can see the truth clearly, divided we fall for lies," Zezito da Silva said.