Tbilisi. Since Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Georgia’s application for EU membership and the Commission’s decision regarding the candidate status, anti-Western messages have particularly strengthened in Georgia. Along with pro-Russian and ultra-right groups, members of the parliamentary majority are no longer shying away from attacks on the country's Western partners. Four deputies who left the ruling party in June 2022 founded the public movement "People's Power", which is distinguished with anti-Western messages. The “Georgian Dream’s” improper dissent of former members’ anti-Western statements and, in some cases, the concurrence of messages, raised doubts in public about the formal nature of the movement's separation from the ruling party. In order to study the statements of "People's Power" and the government representatives’ responses to them, ISFED analyzed political posts published on the Facebook pages of the television companies of PosTV and Imedi as the main communication channels of the mentioned actors. The results of the research… Source: isfed.ge

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information publishes the research: Access to Public Information by the Media: Legislation v. Reality. “It was revealed during the course of the project that there are practical-normative problems of a systemic nature in terms of obtaining information on issues of interest to the media. Ignoring both formal and material requirements of the legislation regulating freedom of information is a regular occurrence. The number of public institutions that attempt to comply with the requirements of the legislation as much as possible is exceptionally low. There is about a 12% probability that information on issues of interest to the media will be provided fully and within the timeframe stipulated in the law. The degree of arbitrariness in public institutions is high. This may be due to the lack of effective judicial or external administrative control. In some cases, it appears that complete ignorance of public information requests is a proven practice of a public institution. The effectiveness of judicial oversight is significantly reduced by the length of timeframes stipulated by law for the consideration of a case, as well as by the courts’ disregard of these terms. The systemic problems discussed above essentially worsen the quality of access to public information on matters of media interest. On a practical level, there is no expectation that the media will be able to obtain information on an issue of its interest within the timeframe stipulated by the law. The cases of compliance with the requirements of the legislation regulating freedom of information by a public institution are exceptional”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Representatives of the Media Companies and Civil Society Organizations appeal to Mr. Charles Michel, President of the European Council. “On November 2, 2022, the Court of Appeals of Georgia upheld the conviction of Nika Gvaramia, founder and General Director of an independent TV channel Mtavari. It is our strong belief that this is a politically motivated case and charges against him are groundless, as it has been stipulated in the independent opinion presented to the Court by the Public Defender of Georgia and non-governmental organizations. Against the backdrop of grave challenges in judiciary and the Georgian Dream’s aggressive policy against critical media, we do not expect Nika Gvaramia's rights to be defended in the Supreme Court of Georgia. We see Presidential pardon as the only remedy to end his unjust imprisonment. Several political and public groups have already addressed the President of Georgia with the request to pardon Nika Gvaramia. President Michel, you are a staunch supporter of Georgia's democratic development, and we sincerely hope that your call on President Salome Zourabichvili could encourage her to take this step, pardon the General Director of a critical broadcaster and a political prisoner. This would be not only a humane act, but also a significant action for the benefit of our country. President Michel, we are confident that your engagement will be a major contribution to the freedom of the media in Georgia; moreover, it will empower Georgian people in their unequivocal aspirations towards Europe”, is noted in the joint statement. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On October 24-26, Europe Foundation held a training on investigative reporting and digital security for media professionals. For three days, the participants worked on techniques for effective sourcing and interviewing, strategies for protecting sources, ways to search for documents and data outside Georgia, finding information online and through social media, secure communication. The event also hosted a discussion around the issues in investigative journalism and security. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On November 2, 2022, the Tbilisi Court of Appeal delivered the verdict in the case of Nika Gvaramia, the former director of the "Rustavi 2" TV company, currently the founder and general director of Mtavari Aharki, upholding Gvaramia’s imprisonment. “The verdict delivered today by the Court of Appeals contradicts European Commission’s requirements for the candidacy status for Georgia, in particular, requirements for pluralistic media environment and an independent and impartial judiciary [4] The case of Nika Gvaramia was included in the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on the freedom of the media and safety of journalists in Georgia.[5] This decision of the court further distanced Georgia from the EU candidacy status and made the European future of our country even more vague. Given the current critical situation, we once again call on the President of Georgia to pardon Nika Gvaramia and play a positive role in the process of Georgia’s integration into the European Union”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On November 2, the judges of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals, Merab Jorbenadze, Lavrenti Maghlakelidze and David Mamiseishvili found Nika Gvaramia, the former director of "Rustavi 2" and the founder of "TV Mtavari", guilty of abuse of power (two episodes - the so-called commercial airtime sale and the so-called vehicle episode). As a final sanction, he was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months imprisonment. “The efforts made by international partners over the years to strengthen the judicial system have been significantly damaged by the actions of the members of the clan. Politically motivated cases are one of the indicators of challenges to judicial independence. Similar cases cast a shadow on the judiciary, including impartial judges. Accordingly, we believe that in the future spending the partners’ resources on judges, who in the past have violated human rights, won't have a positive impact on the development of the judiciary”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Within the frames of the Global Media and Information Literacy (#MIL) Week, today ISFED organized an 🇪🇺 EU-funded Conference with a panel discussion about media literacy and other means of strengthening society's resistance to disinformation.  “The EU stands ready to help Georgians become more resilient and well armoured against disinformation. Collectively, we can increase our immunity to disinformation and fight back effectively” -- the EU Ambassador to Georgia Pawel Herczynski said in his opening remarks. Read more… Source: EU’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. IDFI provides legal assistance to “Business Media Georgia” (BMG) journalist, Telara Gelantia in the case of establishing possible discriminatory act of the Government of Georgia against her. Such an unequal treatment of the journalist by the Government of Georgia is another manifestation of the negative attitude towards the media, which has been particularly noticeable on the part of the government officials in the last few years. Learn more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. USAID, UNICEF, Media Development Foundation, and DemocracyLab trained 600 young people and 200 teachers to identify disinformation about COVID-19 and spread the word to their friends. Throughout the campaign, which closed this week, 70,000 young people got the information they needed to spot and debunk disinformation. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. UNA Georgia's Media Platform Civil.ge celebrates its 21st anniversary. “Civil Georgia is a Tbilisi-based free daily news website, operated in three languages (English, Russian, Georgian), which UNA Georgia created with the purpose of filling the gap of trust in Georgia’s divided, politically biased media. During the last 21 years of its uninterrupted service, Civil.ge continues to serve this unique purpose. UNAG launched Civil Georgia (www.civil.ge) in 2001, which soon succeeded in becoming one of the very few sources of information that enjoy unreserved trust by local and international readers in Georgia. With over 1,250,000 unique users from all corners of the globe in 2022, Civil.ge reaches out to the policy and academic communities in Georgia, as well as in Europe and the U.S., to officials working in EU and international organizations, as well as Tbilisi-based foreign diplomatic corps”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Adjara. On July 3, a meeting with media representatives was held in Batumi on the immunization program and its importance, as well as the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. The member organizations of the Media Advocacy Coalition appeal to th President of Georgia to consider and positively resolve the issue of pardoning Nika Gvaramia, General Director of Mtavari Arkhi, as the arrest of the Founder and General Director of Mtavari Arkhi, a broadcasting channel which expresses critical attitudes towards the government, poses a real threat to our country. Fair Criticism with regards to Nika Gvaramia's Detention has also been incorporated in The European Parliament resolution of 8 June 2022 “on the Freedom of the Media and the Violation of the Safety of Journalists” calling on the Georgian authorities to adhere to the highest standards of democracy, including the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, air and legitimate judicial process and other fundamental freedoms, including in the area of media freedom. “We appeal to you, as the Head of State of Georgia, to pardon Nika Gvaramia and by doing so fulfill your crucial role in easing the current political crisis in the country as well as in the process of Georgia's integration into the European Union”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. According to the information of the ISFED, yesterday, TV Imedi broadcasted the results of a public opinion poll conducted by polling company GORBI. The formulation of questions in the poll does not meet validity standards, is not relevant to the current developments and aims not to study public opinion, but rather to manipulate it, thus the poll represents tool of propaganda. The absurdity of this part of the poll, which was commissioned by the TV IMEDI, is the attempt to turn, so far concealed, anti-Western rhetoric into public opinion. “The poll presented consolidates number of propaganda techniques that are characteristics of an autocratic regimes, such as: fueling fear, confronting people with non-existent choices, creating an icon of the evil enemy, manipulating public opinion or attitudes and deceiving”. Read more…  Source: isfed.ge

Tbilisi. On June 3-4, 2022, the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) and the University of Georgia, as well as the University-based Investigative Media Lab, held a conference on “Awakening of the World: A Hybrid War, Disinformation and History in CEE.” At the conference, in a roundtable, research of disinformation and challenges were discussed by experts working in this field in Georgia, also students of various Universities presented their researches at the conference.  Learn more… Source: idfi.ge

Samegrelo. With support from USAID, UNICEF and the Media Development Foundation organized a media literacy training titled, “Do Not Get Infected with Misinformation”, that was held in Poti Public School #5 and taught young people how to identify misinformation about COVID-19, as well as disseminate knowledge about what they learned among their peers. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Non-governmental organizations express solidarity with Nika Gvaramia and Mtavari Arkhi team. “The decision of the Tbilisi City Court of May 16, 2022, and the imprisonment of Nika Gvaramia is perceived as a warning and threat to other independent media outlets to stop critical coverage of the government’s performance, to cease watchdog activities and to refrain from the disclosure of facts that are undesirable to the government. The imprisonment of the General Director of a critical media outlet, including on the basis of managerial decisions, is yet another example of selective investigation, prosecution and conviction. We think that these kind of developments may have a negative impact on Georgia's European integration process”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) initiates a project in order to improve accessibility of public information within the framework of which offers full legal assistance to journalists and other media representatives regarding freedom of information. Legal assistance includes: Drafting applications, complaints and claims Representing in administrative bodies and courts  IDFI will cover state fees if necessary. Learn more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. According to the IDFI International organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) annually publishes Global Press Freedom index results and rankings for 180 countries in the world. Results and estimations for 2022 became available to the public today.  Index for 2022 shows significant worsening of freedom of media in Georgia compared to last year. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day, the EU and ISFED hosted a conference for media representatives to assess the Georgian media landscape and discuss existing challenges and possible solutions. One of the highlights was a keynote address from Peter Stano, Spokesperson for External Affairs of the EU. Check out some photos from the conference… Source: The EU’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information publishes the article “The Overview of the Censorship of the Georgian Press and Print Media”. “In contemporary Georgia, in fact, the censorship on print media does not exist. Nowadays, there is a growing tendency of coordinated disinformation campaigns and hate speech in print media. There are a number of publications that use the above-mentioned methods on purpose. Through spreading the fake news and the usage of hate speech, they enhance the polarization in the society. Also, there is a problem of pressure on different media sources, their bribing for distorting information, using them for political objectives and the decrease of the level of their freedom. According to the research carried out by the international organization Reporters without Borders in 2020, considering the global index, Georgian press holds 60th place. The conclusion emphasizes the case of Adjara TV, which experiences the pressure from the representatives of particular party, as well as the case of Afgan Mukhtarli”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. EU Ambassador Carl Hartzell awarded the winners in six categories covering print, broadcast, online, and photo journalism. Ambassador Marek Szczygieł, Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission awarded the winner of the Special Prize for conflict-sensitive journalism contributing to confidence building and peace. Meet the winners: Tamar Babuadze, Anastasia Slovinskaia, Zurab Modebadze, Khatia Ghoghoberidze, Tinatin Nachkebia, Giorgi Shengelia, Zviad Mchedlishvili. Read more… Source: eu4georgia.eu