By opening science to a larger number of users, i.e., by practising Open Science, the effects of science itself are multiplied. Research becomes accessible to more people, which, combined with the use of adequate channels for dissemination, can lead to the popularization of researched areas and consequently raise the level of public knowledge on a specific topic (Vlašiček & Flis, 2021). Thus, today with broadband internet and ubiquitous information access, the popularisation of science on digital platforms is extremely important to protect the cognitive experience of existing and new societal phenomena from malicious influences. Of course, manipulation of information is also possible in science, but it is significantly hampered by the fundamental principles of science such as transparency, verifiability, and argumentation when publishing information about the phenomena it deals with.

To understand disinformation campaigns, it is necessary to distinguish misinformation, which abounds in today’s information space, from disinformation. The fundamental difference lies in the purpose, or goal. Namely, misinformation is not necessarily created to mislead the user; it can be the result of ignorance, incompetence, or simply the fabrication of unverified content. In contrast, disinformation represents deliberately sent false or partially false information with the intent to mislead the user (Tuđman, 2003). The role of science is extremely significant in all domains of human society, and its actions can be a factor of both stability and instability. The aim of this poster is to show the potential for directed action of open science in the fight against disinformation to protect the corpus of public knowledge by using verified information platforms. As an example of the disputable use of verified and scientifically confirmed information, we can point to the multilingual, freely accessible internet encyclopaedia Wikipedia, which is susceptible to malicious influences, although most of its content represents accurate data (McDowell & Vetter, 2020). This encyclopaedia is the most widespread service for information about the “unknown,” and although partially regulated, it does not represent a fully regulated information platform.

There is a known example where the Croatian Wikipedia was shown to be biased in shaping content, particularly concerning political and military topics, including the theme of the Homeland War (Car & Šobota, 2023). A disinformation campaign is extremely difficult to prove because intent must be detected; however, a certain lack of transparency was observed, to which the administrators themselves reacted by employing so-called “Fact checkers.” Wikimedia published a report on this activity titled: “The Croatian Wikipedia Case: Encyclopedia of Knowledge or Encyclopedia for the Nation?” (Wikipedia.org, 2021) The digitization, updating, and popularization of national encyclopedic material, with an emphasis on the Croatian Encyclopedia, would reduce the influence of occasionally unverified platforms in this field and enable the reception of verified knowledge. Furthermore, projects like the “Digitization of materials from the Homeland War” and the declassification, i.e., public accessibility, of parts thereof would create a basis for upgrading existing knowledge based on facts and authentic sources, thereby reducing the possibility of information manipulation (Balog Vojak & Šinkić, 2013).

The contribution of open science principles would certainly include preventive activities such as educating public service staff through workshops and training on how to detect and identify potential threats in the information space. The goal of this approach is, of course, not for scientists to become “fact evaluators,” but for open science to become a reference point for shaping opinions about phenomena through increased accessibility, while unverified informational content on various media platforms would be approached with a higher level of critical thinking. Thus, science would represent a partial barrier to the penetration of disinformation into the corpus of public knowledge.