Tbilisi. On October 7, there was made a presentation of a new study conducted by the Global Disinformation Index (GDI) and the Media Development Foundation (MDF). The study contains evaluation of media market risk ratings in Georgia and refers on the analysis of 24 Georgian-language media sites. “The study, conducted in April-July 2020, is based on a disinformation risk assessment methodology developed by GDI. Georgia is among those 10 countries, which were evaluated in 2020 using this methodology”. Read more… Source:www.mdfgeorgia.ge

Tbilisi. Public Defender and Councils of National Minorities and Religions of Public Defender release the statement. “We urge all citizens of Georgia - all those who value peace and security in Georgia and in the region - to refrain as much as possible from using hate speech on ethno-religious or other grounds, including via social networks. We call on the media to be careful with disseminating the kind of information that may fuel or even slightly escalate tension between ethnic groups. We call on the state agencies to actively cooperate with representatives of relevant ethnic groups, community and religious leaders and organizations in order to maintain and strengthen tolerant environment in our country and in the region”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. On October 31, 2020, elections of the Parliament of Georgia, wheelchair-bound voters will have the opportunity to vote at any adapted polling station, set up on the territory of the relevant majoritarian constituency. To do so, they must apply to the relevant district or precinct election commission no later than October 25. Information on adapted polling stations can be found on the CEC website... Read more… Source: the website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. “Media Advocacy Coalition” considers that the campaign, carried out against “Pankisi Community Radio”, cannot be left without a proper response and that the Government is obliged to take immediate measures in regard to both investigation of the occurred incident and the October 6, 2020 statement of the radio, which further reveals planned steps aiming to interfere in journalistic activities unlawfully. Read more… Source: The website of the Coalition in a social network

Tbilisi. The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy has set up a Godo Election Bot - Facebook chatbot to talk about Election Day procedures, the electoral system, irregularities, techniques of fighting against disinformation and etc. To activate the chatbot, go to the page of Godo... and send a private message. Read more... Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. As Myth Detector informs, on October 3, one of the Armenian-language Facebook pages posted a video spreading news as if the Borjomi railway station is used to deliver military equipment to Azerbaijan. The video contains shots taken from a vehicle displaying buildings, railway, trucks and several tanks. “The publicized video does not evidence that there takes place transportation of military equipment from the territory of Georgia to Azerbaijan. Furthermore, it is also difficult to identify where and when the video was taken. Both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Armenian Embassy in Georgia deny the disseminated news”. Read more… Source:www.mythdetector.ge

Tbilisi. In September 2020, Sophio Rusetski and Tamar Tskhovrebadze, representatives of the Gender Department of the Public Defender's Office of Georgia, held remote informational meetings with members of the Gender Equality Council of Shida Kartli municipalities (Khashuri, Kareli, Kaspi, Gori). The purpose of the meeting was to get information about the challenges faced by the Gender Equality Councils during the novel corona virus pandemic and the problems that have arisen in the municipalities. Poverty and complicated social situation were named as major challenges. Increase in the cases of domestic violence and the prejudices and stereotypes of the society were also discussed at the meeting. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. USAID/Georgia announced the Georgia Information Integrity Program, a new five-year initiative designed to help Georgia build societal resilience against disinformation. Through 2025, USAID is partnering with the Government of Georgia and others to develop a comprehensive, “whole-of-society” approach to protecting Georgia’s information space. Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes a blog post: Disinformation spread in Armenian and Azerbaijani media in regard to the position of Georgia on the Karabakh conflict.  Despite the fact that Georgia maintains neutrality over the military conflict taking place between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, there is misinformation in regard to the position of Georgia actively spread in Armenian and Azerbaijani media.  Disseminated disinformation includes news about Georgia providing a path to military equipment sent from Turkey to Azerbaijan. There periodically appear Georgian and Russian-language posts, in which Georgia is accused of the above-mentioned action. Following to spread of similar disinformation, the situation in Javakheti has become tense several times. ”While on September 30, Karen Ohanjanyan, an Armenian politician and Leader of the “Republican Party of Nagorno-Karabakh”, posted disinformation of the same content on his Facebook page accusing Georgia of providing a path to military supplies sent from Turkey to Azerbaijan and stated that Javakheti should declare independence from Georgia. The statement of Ohanjanyan is a clear example of the extent of disinformation in regard to Georgia in the Armenian information space”. In the circumstances of an information war, the organization calls on the government to enhance communication with the local population, international partners, make sure they are informed about developments taking place in the region, declare the official position of Georgia on neutrality and steps taken by the country.  Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. As Myth Detector informs, on October 3, 2020, Tvalsazrisi ge published an interview with Nona Agdgomelashvili, a therapist and astropsychologist, titled: “You must know that face mask has categorical contraindications! Alarm of Doctor Nona Agdgomelashvili”. In the material, the respondent talks about the disadvantages of using a face mask and notes that face masks can intoxicate humans with carbon dioxide. According to her, face masks maintain their effectiveness only in a sterile environment and not, for example, in public transport. “The statement, as if a face mask can intoxicate humans with carbon dioxide or its use is effective only in a sterile environment, is not true. As the World Health Organization instructs, the face mask is one of the effective means in terms of self-protection against the virus and plays an important role in preventing the spread of the disease if it is used with full adherence to recommendations and accuracy”, - is stated in the blog post. Read more…   Source: www.mythdetector.ge

Tbilisi. MAC Georgia announces open registration for the Importance of play online Zoom training, scheduled for October 13th and 16th. This training is designed for teachers and other professionals working in kindergarten. The training includes the following topics: Importance of play and its role in child development; Types of play; Basic safety skills; Using play as a way to increase independent living skills in children. Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia is responding to the illegal detention of a Georgian citizen, Irakli Bebua, by the occupation regime on the occupied territory of Abkhazia. “According to reports, Irakli Bebua burnt a flag of the de facto republic. In addition, the de facto law enforcement agency accuses him of intentionally destructing property and illegally possessing ammunition. Given the nature of the action allegedly carried out by Irakli Bebua, it is likely that the de facto authorities artificially aggravated charges against him. Given all of the above, the Public Defender calls on the Georgian Government to strengthen efforts, with the help of international organizations, to release Irakli Bebua from illegal detention”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies publishes a blog post of Zurab Batiashvili, Research Fellow of the organization: Escalation of the Karabakh conflict: Threats and challenges to Georgia. “It is clear to everyone that the Karabakh conflict cannot be resolved easily. Even if the parties reach an agreement on a ceasefire in the near future, it will still be temporary and there will always exist a probability of its violation (as the history of this conflict has already shown us); Respectively, threats and challenges that Georgia might face in regard to the Karabakh conflict are going to be relevant for a long time to come...” Read more... Source:www.gfsis.org

Tbilisi. The Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies publishes a blog post: Overview of the Russian Armed Forces: Edition 55, September 21-27, 2020. “Overview of the Russian Armed Forces is a weekly digest, which provides readers with information regarding key activities of the military forces of the Russian Federation and changes taking place there. The overview will be useful for researchers, public servants and all others interested in what is going on in the military forces of this one of the most aggressive states in the world”. Read more… Source: www.gfsis.org

Adjara. The Georgia Red Cross Society Batumi branch delivered food and hygiene parcels to the charity house “Savane”. The Georgia Red Cross Society provides the community with the support of the USAID - US Agency for International Development and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. Myth Detector publishes material of Medea Sulamanidze: Does there exist a secret UN document in regard to the New World Order? “On October 1, 2020, Nina Marji, a Facebook user, posted a video in a public group “Corona Afiora” in the Russian language, in which an animated character talks about the New World Order, a program developed by the UN. The video asserts that the UN has set goals for world governance, among which are abolition of family and state sovereignty, implantation of chips into human bodies, installation of 5G technologies, introduction of a digital world currency, establishment of a world army, etc. A Georgian translation of the video text is provided in posts of Georgian users as a description. The assertion of both posts of Georgian users and the Russian-language video that there exists a UN program intending to establish the New World Order for 2021-2030 years, lacks evidences and is a conspiracy. A document with such name or content cannot be searched through open sources”. Read more… Source: www.mythdetector.ge

Tbilisi. Civil society organizations publish a manifesto in regard to processes that take place in Nagorno-Karabakh. “We, the peoples living in the Caucasus region, have the severest experience of brutal wars, conflicts and exile. We have all realized from our own historical experience that wars are heavy burdens on shoulders of people, carry the power to destroy and impoverish them, and bring only pain, suffering and frustration. No nation or ethnos in our region has gained victory and development as a result of war. That is specifically why we believe that only a policy of peace, negotiations and cooperation will bring stability and development to our region”, - is stated in the Manifesto.  Read more… Source: humanrights.ge

Adjara. On September, 30 within the joint project “Young Volunteer”, the Georgia Red Cross Society and the Youth Regional Center trained 15 volunteers. They will be involved in the project from October 1 and will be located at various places. Read more... Source: The organization's page in the social network

Tbilisi. Online meetings to discuss the mission and charter of the Committee for the Support of Strengthening the Services for the Persons with Disability are underway by the Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC). On October 1, the meeting was held with representatives from the Guria and Kvemo Kartli regions. The meeting aimed to determine the mission and organizational structure of the Committee and to work on the draft document. Read more... Source: The organization's page in the social network

Tbilisi. Civil society organization call on investigative and security agencies of Georgia, as well as the Audit Office to respond adequately to information regarding the “Alliance of Patriots” publicized by “Dossier”. “”Dossier”, a platform for investigative journalism, which aims at exposing criminal groups of the Kremlin, published two reports on August 24 and 31. The reports emphasize links, as well as financial relations between the “Alliance of Patriots of Georgia” and the Kremlin. As “Dossier” affirms, the reports are based on documents obtained from the secretariat of Vladimir Chernov, Head of the Directorate for Inter-Regional Relations and Cultural Contacts with Foreign Countries at the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, and reveal a network that is close to the Kremlin and oversees relations with the “Alliance of Patriots”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Georgian public organizations including the citizens of Georgia, ethnic Azerbaijani Armenian activists, as well as activists from other ethnic communities release peace manifesto related to armed confrontation between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh. "We, the peoples living in the Caucasus region, have the severest experience of brutal wars, conflicts and exile. We have all realized from our own historical experiences that wars are heavy burdens of people’s backs, has the power to destroy and impoverish them, and only brings pain, suffering and frustration. None of the ethnic group or nation in our region has gained victory and development as a result of war. Therefore, we believe, that only cooperation politics, negotiations and peace can bring stability and development to our region. The diversity has always been a feature of the region". Read more... Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. On September 30, 2020, IDFI and GYLA, in cooperation with the Administration of the Government of Georgia, conducted online training for regional NGOs on Public Administration Reform (PAR) issues. The training participants were introduced to the issues of Public Administration Reform, PAR Action Plan and its monitoring methodology. The electronic monitoring platform for Public Administration Reform (PAR Tracker), which ensures the involvement of external users in the monitoring process, was also discussed during the training. Read more... Source: The organization's page in the social network