Over the next three years, the British government will allocate £ 18m ($ 22.5m) to combat disinformation and the "fake news" phenomenon in Eastern European countries, as well as strengthening of independent media in Western Balkans, DW reported.

In the words of British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt, it is a priority to create conditions for the smooth work of the journalists. 

Mr Hunt said that the new three-year £18m package would  ”support journalists working in some of the most repressive societies and step up the attack against fake news”, The Telegraph reported.

This was stated before the planned Global Media Freedom Conference, to be held on 10 and 11 July in London.

According to a recent study from NGO Freedom House, only 10pc of the world's population currently have access to a free media.

Mr Hunt said, given this, "fake news and disinformation continue to undermine and destabilise societies”, The Telegraph reported.