Tbilisi. Georgian Civil Society Organizations are reacting to the audio recording broadcast on TV Pirveli • ტელეკომპანია პირველი, the alleged participants of which are, the incumbent Prime Minister, the head of the Special State Protection Service, and Bera Ivanishvili. “We call on the Parliament of Georgia to use the tools afforded to it by the Constitution of Georgia and the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament and to demand clarifications from the Prime Minister. The disseminated record and the alleged participation of the Prime Minister in it should be the subject of parliamentary discussions. We call on law enforcement agencies to take an appropriate expert and/or other investigative measures to verify the authenticity of the record. To ensure public trust, this process must be conducted in a timely, efficient, and transparent manner. The involvement of independent observers/experts in the process must be ensured. All necessary measures must be taken to increase the credibility of the investigation”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Representatives of the media and civil society, call on high-ranking decision-makers, the Prime Minister of Georgia, members of Parliament, and the Chairman of the Georgian Dream party: Stop aggressive rhetoric and incitement of hatred towards representatives of media… “The state propaganda machine labels critical media as political opponents and promotes intolerance towards them. In a politically polarized society, such an attitude towards the media encourages further attacks. Politically motivated lawsuits are being filed against media representatives. The broadcasting regulatory authority is politicized and seeks to impose censorship”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. TI Georgia strongly condemns the violent attack against Formula TV journalist Vakho Sanaia. “We call on the authorities to effectively investigate this incident and punish those responsible to the full extent of the law. This incident is the result of the government's aggressive and hateful rhetoric against the critical media, journalists and people who hold different opinions. Accordingly, these actions encourage this kind of violence which endangers freedom of speech and expression. We call on the representatives of the ruling party to realize their role in this process, to stop their aggressive rhetoric towards critical media, to publicly condemn any form of violence against journalists, and to ensure a safe environment for media activities”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Media Advocacy Coalition addresses the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia for an official explanation. “On February 9, we came to know that Mariam Geguchadze, a representative of the “Mtavari Channel”, was denied entry to the Parliament and her right to perform journalistic activities was restricted. According to our information, civic activism of Mariam Geguchadze was a reason for refusal named by representatives of the Parliament in a verbal form. We call on the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia to make a public statement regarding possible discriminatory treatment and ensure journalists have a relevant working environment to perform their professional duties”.  Read more… Source: gdi.ge

Tbilisi. According to information released by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), the European Court of Human Rights has reaffirmed in its important decision of January 21, 2021 once again that restriction of access to information of public interest while carrying out journalistic activities breaches freedom of expression. “The case was about providing a Ukrainian journalist with information regarding purchase of state property by Viktor Yanukovych, former President of Ukraine. A subject matter of the dispute was also a refusal of the Constitutional Court to provide the applicant with a copy of a constitutional claim of Members of Parliament, which challenged the Law on Language Policy adopted in Ukraine in 2012. The court should judge whether the refusal of public institutions to provide information to the applicant constituted an unlawful interference with freedom of expression or not. The court decided unanimously that it was breach of freedom of expression. A fair balance between two conflicting interests in the case - protection of personal data and access to public information was ruled out in favor of the latter”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Media Development Foundation (MDF) has carried out a survey in 4 regions of Georgia, findings of which are available here... The organization conducts already the second survey that aims at studying what impact disinformation and conspiracies have on public perceptions and which anecdotal evidences are most prevalent in society. “Besides, the purpose of the survey was to study public attitudes towards certain foreign policy related issues and the coronavirus pandemic, including vaccination aspects. The survey refers on the anecdotal evidence method, which basically uses informally collected data based on personal experience”. Read more… Source: mdfgeorgia.ge

Tbilisi. Media Advocacy Coalition releases the next statement regarding “activities initiated by the Communications Commission aiming to regulate obscenity” and considers that the Commission acts against law. “An attempt of the commission to assume a function of a self-regulatory body and interfere in the content of a broadcaster is categorically unacceptable as it has no authority to do so. Allowing such a fact to take place will entail control of the content of media, which is the strictest form of restriction of freedom of speech. Bringing in a practice that is inconsistent with legislation and the Constitution of Georgia is a direct threat of censorship”, - is stated by the Coalition. Read more… Source: gyla.ge/ge

Tbilisi. Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP) organized the second online movie-discussion based on the 3 following documentary videos: “Right-wing populists and the EU” by Deutsche Welle (DW), “Georgia’s Rave Revolution” by BBC, and the media report by Radio Liberty titled “Should we are afraid of modern fascism?”. The aim of the discussion was to understand to what extent could journalists prepare objective and balanced content while broadcasting the narratives and actions of the far-right groups. Also, where is the line between balanced coverage and the encouragement of radical right-wing narratives. The event was part of the public discussion series “Analysing Illiberal Tendencies in Georgia”. The discussion series, which is financially supported by the Open Society Georgian Foundation (OSGF), aims at revealing the factors causing the emergence of far-right radicalization in Georgia. Read more…  Source: The web-page of the organization

Tbilisi. “Fact Check” reports about disinformation regarding the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The subject of discussion is the website Geomediapress.ge, according to which the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been suspended due to vaccination in Norway, causing the death of up to 400 people. “Referring to the official website of Pfizer-BioNTech, Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination has not been stopped in any country, including Norway mentioned in the article. It is not true either that the vaccination claimed the lives of up to 400 people in Norway. In fact, as of today, 33 people have died shortly after being vaccinated with the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech anti-COVID-19 vaccine at a home for the elderly in Norway. It was by January 14, 2020, when for the first time in Norway 23 cases of death after vaccination were officially reported. According to January 18 data, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health had already studied and published results of the autopsy of 13 out of 23 deaths, which revealed that the connection between the vaccine and death was not found. The article of Geomediapress.ge was published on January 19, after the Norwegian Institute of Public Health noted that the connection between death and the vaccine could not be proved”, - is stated by “Fact Check”. Read more… Source:The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The EU Delegation in Georgia devotes an extensive article to the misinformation surrounding the vaccination against COVID-19. “Vaccinations are one of the greatest successes in public health. We read about diseases like smallpox in history books, rather than news websites, precisely because of vaccines, which helped to eradicate them. However, since the beginning of the pandemic there has been a huge volume of misleading information and blatant conspiracy theories about vaccines. In fact, the “vaccine scare” has been present in the undergrowth of information space for quite some time, successfully exploited by disinformation actors, state and non-state”, - We read in the article, - “Just like vaccines can provide immunity to viruses, including COVID-19, we can build immunity to disinformation”. Read more…  Source: The web-page of the organization

Tbilisi. The EU-funded monitoring of media coverage of 2020 parliamentary elections in Georgia is implemented by UNDP in partnership with three Georgian civil society organizations: the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics, Internews Georgia and CRRC-Georgia. It covers 43 different media outlets, including 12 television stations, 10 radio stations, 8 print newspapers and 13 online editions. In addition to electoral news reporting, media monitoring looks into the ways that Georgian media organizations connect with their readers on Facebook and examines how Georgian television stations are covering foreign influence on Georgian electoral processes. Read more… Source: www.ge.undp.org

Shida-Kartli. On December 14, 2020 - Giorgi Targamadze, founder of Georgian Strategic Analysis Center, held a lecture on mass media and the current political landscape within the framework of the training program "Youth for Change" for politically active youth from Gori. “The aim of the project is to involve local activists and NGOs, municipal staff and media representatives in active discussions”. Read more… Source: The organization's page in the social network

The ADAMI Media Prize for Cultural Diversity in Eastern Europe is holding its 2020 awards ceremony today. Watch the event on Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) at 19:00. The EU Ambassador Carl Hartzell will be the guest of honour of the Award Ceremony and will give a musical performance together with the winner of Voice of Germany contest Natia Todua. Find out more... Source: EU’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. “Media Advocacy Coalition” member organizations respond to the statement of Nika Gvaramia, Director and a founder of “Mtavari Channel”, in which he stresses that “he has been threatened to be arrested and have his property confiscated”. “We have repeatedly expressed reasonable doubts that Nika Gvaramia is systematically pressured by representatives of the ruling party in different ways due to his critical points of view. On the background of constant criticism of representatives of the authorities against the media that is independent from the Government, we are concerned that the purpose of the criminal persecution, initiated against Nika Gvaramia, is to change the editorial policy of “Mtavari Channel”. This process will have a negative impact on the team of “Mtavari Channel” and the work environment of journalists. We, “Media Advocacy Coalition” member organizations express our support to both Nika Gvaramia and “Mtavari Channel”. We call on international partners to put issues related to safety of journalists and freedom of media on the political agenda, protect Director and a founder of “Mtavari Channel” from obvious threats and political persecution”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. On December 11-21, 2020, within USAID and UNAG’s #PITA Program, we are starting a Training for Trainers for a new cohort of the Mobile Task Force: Youth for Building Resilience - Promoting Media Literacy and Critical Thinking.  Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. According to information released by the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, on December 7, the National Communications Commission published a statement and called on broadcasters to not transmit programs containing obscenity, otherwise it would apply the authority stipulated by law. “We consider that the Commission, referring on protection of rights of citizens, attempts to regulate broadcasters, authority of which is not granted to it by law. The Commission notes in the statement that it is possible to carry out a judicial review of a program containing obscenity, and since its decision is subject to a judicial review, it also has the authority to regulate the content of such a program. Mentioned reasoning of the Commission does not follow from either the “Law on Broadcasting” or the decision of the Constitutional Court that allows a judicial review of a program containing obscenity”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics begins accepting applications for the “Charter Prize 2020” competition. The purpose of the annual competition is to establish professional standards and promote development of ethical journalism. Read more… Source: www.qartia.ge

Tbilisi. Myth Detector publishes a blog post: Do face masks protect us against coronavirus infection? An article, published by News Front Georgia, refers to a FB user post and contains such conspiracies and disinformation as: COVID-19 is a flu type virus and the global pandemic is an artificial process designed to reduce population. “In reality: 1) wearing face masks significantly reduces the risk of virus transmission; 2) COVID-19 is not a flu type virus and it is a much more acute infection; 3) assertion that the pandemic serves to reduce population lacks evidences and is a conspiracy theory”. Read more… Source: www.mythdetector.ge

Tbilisi. “Rights Georgia” conducted an individual survey of journalists and cameramen affected by the November 8 rally. The survey gives an impression that in some cases water cannons have been applied by law enforcers to target specifically media representatives. The organization considers that there are signs of a crime defined by the Criminal Code of Georgia, which entails the responsibility for unlawful interference in professional activities of a journalist.  Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association calls on the Ministry of Internal Affairs to respond effectively to facts of violence against media. “At the polling station N79 in Gldani district, a journalist of “Publika” was attacked by one of the people standing on the perimeter of the polling station. It is also noteworthy that this person confronted other media representatives too and publicly swore them”. Read more… Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender’s Office was actively monitoring the parliamentary elections of October 31 within the framework of the authority granted by the legislation of Georgia. “The Public Defender of Georgia condemns the obstruction of professional activities of journalists and violent actions against them. The Public Defender explains that the Criminal Code of Georgia sets a high standard in relation to journalists’ professional activities. Thus, the Public Defender of Georgia calls on the law enforcement agencies to launch an investigation into each incident directed against journalists under Article 154 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which pertains to unlawful obstruction of journalist's professional activities, and to take appropriate measures to identify all persons involved in the incidents”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. On October 21, 2020, the Public Defender of Georgia addressed the Prosecutor General of Georgia with a proposal to launch an investigation into the alleged persecution of the employees of the Public Broadcaster Adjara Television and Radio. “Examination of the circumstances of the case revealed that the employees of the Adjara TV were persecuted for their different opinions, in particular, for openly expressing critical views on the decisions made by the management”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge