In a move that drew condemnation across the West and sparked mass protests in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, the Georgian parliament passed a bill March 7 that would force nongovernmental organizations, civil society groups and independent media operating in the country to register as “foreign agents.”
The designation carries social and legal repercussions, and the law would grant the Georgian Ministry of Justice free rein to surveil such groups.
Facing immediate bidirectional opposition — from the European Union and domestic groups — the Georgian government withdrew the law just days after the protests began.
“In reality, the law is all about silencing civil society and the media by obliging them to register as agents of foreign influence,” said Mariam Tsitsikashvili, a research fellow at GRASS Georgia, a civil society group, adding that Georgian members of parliament used the conversation to smear all Georgian nongovernmental organizations as serving exclusively foreign — not national — interests.
The Georgian government has previously targeted both FactCheck Georgia and Myth Detector — media organizations and verified signatories to the International Fact-Checking Network. Last year, the chairman of ruling party Georgian Dream accused FactCheck Georgia of being politically biased and foreign-funded. Government-affiliated TV channels ran with it, publishing multiple stories about the claim over several months.
The “foreign agents” proposal also conferred administrative and financial pressures on NGOs and media, “which could be another way to pressure us or force us to reduce operations or close,” Tsitkashvili said.
“The news was indeed disturbing for the members of our organization,” said Tamar Kintsurashvili, executive director of Media Development Foundation, a Georgia-based civil society organization, and editor-in-chief of Myth Detector, its fact-checking arm. “Notably, there is already an ongoing campaign against fact-checkers in Georgia, labeling them as censors that restrict the freedom of speech and expression of the general public. The initiative to label our organization as an ‘agent of foreign’ influence would put additional pressure on us.”
The draft law would force organizations that received more than 20% of their income from foreign sources as “agents of influence” — which would amplify the stigma against civil society organizations — the law would also allow the Ministry of Justice to “search for necessary information including personal data” to verify submitted information.
“This section of the bill was particularly alarming as the law would enable anonymous sources to submit requests to examine specific organizations,“ Kintsurashvili said, adding that the vast majority of civil society organizations decided to not register, as it would accelerate the “demonization” of civil society.
When the law was retracted, media organizations reacted with cautious optimism.
“Although we are now genuinely happy that the attack on Georgia’s constitution and on Georgian media and (civil society organization) sector has been pushed back, the bigger picture and political environment continue to be worrisome,” said Tsitsikashvili.
The group that initially authored the bill, People’s Power, has also advocated for a fake news law, which has alarmed civil society groups.
“It could have similar, if not more severe consequences for Georgian statehood and democracy,” Kintsurashvili said.
Interesting fact-checks
(Shutterstock)
- Lead Stories: Posts On These Pages Are NOT Helping To Rescue Missing Migrants — They Are Used To Fleece Their Families (English)
- “Published debunks — in Spanish and English — that spell out how extorters and scammers are setting up phony Facebook pages with fake reports about migrant rescues at the border in an attempt to get desperate family members to call or write about missing border crossers. The bait enables them to demand money in exchange for information — which never comes — about missing loved ones.”
- El Detector: The “director” of orchestra “Lydia Tár” did NOT die at the Oscars by “falling down the stairs”: she is a fictional character (Spanish)
- “The misinformation originated from a Twitter account identified as Lydia Tár, the “main conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic.” But it is a character that is not real, but came to life when played by the actress Cate Blanchett in the film Tár.”
- Medezin Transparent: Weighted blankets: the benefit of disturbed sleep is questionable (German)
- “Previous studies have not found any convincing evidence of effective help for sleep disorders — at least for autistic children and adults with mental illnesses. However, a benefit cannot be ruled out either. More research is needed.”
- Open.Online: No! The Simpsons did not predict the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (Italian)
- “It is not the first time that the American cartoon has been used to support alleged predictions, such as that of the date of death of Queen Elizabeth II or the arrival of monkeypox, even COVID-19 and Putin’s war in Ukraine. In this case, the video broadcast has been artfully modified.”
Quick hits
People who lost their houses in the devastating earthquake, lineup to receive aid supplies at a makeshift camp, in Iskenderun city, southern Turkey, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
From the news:
- Violence against waste pickers in Paraíba has nothing to do with the Lula government. “Municipal, not federal, agents were responsible for approaching a recyclable material picker with video violence that circulates on the networks. The recording, made in February 2023, shows employees of Sedurb (Secretariat for Development and Urban Control) in João Pessoa seizing a cart and a woman’s personal belongings during the passage of a Carnival block through the streets of the city. The action has nothing to do with the federal government.” (Marco Faustino, Aos Fatos)
- In the shadow of the earthquake: What do women need in the disaster area? “After the earthquakes that took place in Turkey on Feb. 6, 2023, the deficiencies in response and aid to the earthquake-affected regions are making a huge impact on the public. Some of these deficiencies directly affect women and girls. In this bulletin, we have compiled some of the main findings on gender-based impacts and needs in earthquake zones.” (Cansu Yilmaz, Doğruluk Payı)
From/for the community:
- International Fact-Checking Day will take place April 2 and be celebrated April 3 and 4. Stay tuned for information about how to sign up for our panel discussions, trivia and more.
- Google and YouTube are partnering with the International Fact-Checking Network to distribute a $13.2 million grant to the international fact-checking community. “The world needs fact-checking more than ever before. This partnership with Google and YouTube infuses financial support to global fact-checkers and is a step in the right direction,” said Baybars Örsek, former executive director of the IFCN. “And while there’s much work to be done, this partnership has sparked meaningful collaboration and an important step.”
- The IFCN has awarded $450,000 in grant support to organizations working to lessen the impact of false and misleading information on WhatsApp. In partnership with Meta, the Spread the Facts Grant Program gives verified fact-checking organizations resources to identify, flag and reduce the spread of misinformation that threatens more than 100 billion messages each day. The grant supports eleven projects from eight countries: India, Spain, Nigeria, Georgia, Bolivia, Italy, Indonesia and Jordan. Read more about the announcement here.
- Find information about helping the victims of the Turkish-Syrian earthquake here.
- IFCN job announcements: Program Officer and Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist
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