Ruling party MP pushes importance of anti-disinformation bill

Irakli Kadagishvili, an MP of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday called disinformation “one of the main challenges” for the country, saying “if it is necessary we should adopt a relevant law”. 

 

The statement came following the claims by the party officials that they had to combat “both disaster and a disinformation campaign” following the landslide in western Shovi resort last week, killing 21, with at least 13 still missing. 

 

Shalva Papuashvili, the Parliament Speaker, on Wednesday accused “several domestic NGOs and media outlets” of spreading “fake information” over the Government’s “ineffective approach to disaster threats and a poor response” to the latest developments in the resort. 

 

Irakli Kobakhidze, the ruling party head, on Tuesday claimed the West was likely to oppose such a law, reiterating its accusations to foreign diplomats over “misleading” the public over the foreign transparency bill, which his party had to withdraw and reject after lass protests in Tbilisi in March, with demonstrators calling the legal piece a “Russian law”. 

 

In his comments, Kadagishvili also mentioned the “threat” of the possible bill to be labeled as a “Russian law”. 

 

“The goal of disinformation is to spread mistrust, confusion, nihilism and cynicism in the society, which is totally unacceptable for a democratic country”, Kadagishvili said, pledging to share an European experience “if we do not evaluate it as Russian”. 

 

The foreign transparency bill called for registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “agents of foreign influence” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad, with domestic NGOs and the international community calling it a “Russian law” which could restrict organizations critical to the Government if approved.