By: I.K. (Nova24TV.si)
The Ministry of Digitalisation deals with everything else except digitalisation. Instead of focusing on the digital transition and the implementation of artificial intelligence in public administration and other aspects of our lives, it exclusively deals with left-wing ideological issues, led by the infamous “hate speech”, which actually has nothing to do with digitalisation.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation, along with its partners, is launching a campaign against peer-to-peer violence and hate speech online, reports STA. The campaign is called the Month of Fighting Peer Violence and Hate Speech Online, and according to the ministry, its purpose is to “raise awareness among young people, teachers, and parents about safe and responsible behaviour online and how to respond to cases of online violence,” as presented at a press conference.
The Agency for Communication Networks and Services of the Republic of Slovenia (Akos) is also participating in the campaign
As part of the one-month campaign by the Ministry of Digital Transformation, which will run from mid-March to mid-April, several roundtable discussions will be organised throughout Slovenia. The campaign is also joined by the Agency for Communication Networks and Services of the Republic of Slovenia (Akos), emphasising that editorially crafted content often sets an example for society in terms of tolerance towards such speech. Therefore, they highlight the media’s responsibility in creating their own programmes.
A wholly ideological project
What specifically does this have to do with digitalisation, except that online media are consumed in digital form? Absolutely nothing. It is yet another auxiliary project in the broader global agenda of leftist authorities aiming to suppress freedom of speech, where the scapegoat for so-called “online violence” will be sought primarily in politically dissident media, but the questions of why children behave inappropriately both online and in real life will not be addressed. After all, online “violence” (if we can call it that) is merely a manifestation of real deviant behaviours on the schoolyard, with the common denominator being permissive upbringing, the breakdown of family values, and a state behaving like a criminal syndicate rather than a role model.
Just to make it look like they are doing something…
In addition to ideological motivation, the ministry engages in such ad hoc projects, which are more suitable for NGOs, primarily to have something to do, as they do not deal with their core mission (digitalisation of administration and citizens). Hence, various foolish projects like “cleaning digital waste”, purchasing 13,000 laptops with no clear purpose (they only distributed 39 of them!), and workshops for youth on identifying fake news (of course, taught by politically appointed “experts”?!) The ministry simply needs to cover up the fact that it is not doing anything that aligns with its job description.
The results of such stagnation are already evident: Slovenia dropped ten places from 31st in 2021 to 41st in the Government AI Readiness Index by the British company Oxford Insights in 2022. The government’s programme for teaching digital skills to senior citizens, initiated by the previous administration, has come to an end. The highly promoted digital transformation of public administration has also failed to materialise.
Despite the lack of progress, Minister for Digital Transformation Emilija Stojmenova Duh is considered the most “profligate”. As reported by the portal preverjeno.si, she has spent over 10,000 euros with her official card in less than ten months, which amounts to approximately 1,000 euros per month. This means that an average employer would have to pay a gross salary of 1,600 euros to an employee to match such expenditure. Fortunately, there is no “hate speech” to report on at the moment.
It is significant that AKOS is involved in this farce – the same AKOS that turns a blind eye when media-trash tycoon Martin Odlazek literally dominated a significant part of the media landscape in Slovenia. Unauthorised concentrations are not as important as moralising about online violence and hate speech.
Let’s also remember that, according to the Parsifal survey, 67.8 percent of respondents believe that demands for the resignation of Minister Emilija Stojmenova Duh are justified.