Misinformation campaigns are undermining civil societies around the world. Stevan Randjelovic is a part of GroupM’s efforts to stop them before they spread.
Stevan has built a career on making the internet a safer place. As a lobbyist for the European communications industry, he saw firsthand the impact that brands could have on everything from consumer privacy to kids’ health. Now, as Director of Brand Safety and Digital Risk, EMEA, at GroupM, Stevan is using his experience and his passion to ensure that the world’s biggest advertisers aren’t funding hate speech or misinformation.
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The idea that advertising budgets shouldn’t go into the pockets of those who disseminate misinformation was still very new when I joined GroupM,” he says. “But I could see that GroupM was already leading in this space, and I wanted to be where I could make the biggest difference.”
With the most innovative media technology and a worldwide network of talent at his disposal, Stevan is equipping brands with the tools they need to make the most responsible media investments. He is part of a team that is actively involved with the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM)—a first-of-its-kind cross-industry initiative co-founded by GroupM—that works to reduce the availability and monetization of harmful content online. And he works directly with the world’s most influential publishers and social platforms to help defund and remove sources of misinformation.
“GroupM clients account for around 30% of the ad budgets in the world,” Stevan says, “When we speak to media owners and publishers, they tend to listen.”
Stevan doesn’t fit the profile of a typical media executive. With his background in public affairs and a master’s in International Relations and Diplomacy Studies, you might expect to find him fighting for these issues at a think tank or government agency. But with the passion and dedication of his coworkers, he feels right at home at GroupM. “The people at GroupM really do want to do the right thing,” he says. “Obviously they have a commercial interest in this, but I wouldn’t have stayed this long if I didn’t see that there was a genuine desire to do something about these issues.”
More than a desire, the people at GroupM have the resources and influence they need to stop the flood of misinformation that’s dividing societies and poisoning minds. It’s why thousands of people just like Stevan come to work here every day. “At GroupM, you have the chance to lead the industry and launch initiatives that will shape how the world reacts to these things,” Stevan says. “That’s not something you can say for many companies.”