Information Integrity Coalition Calls on Government to Reject anti-Western Messages
On November 10, the Information Integrity Coalition released a statement concerning European Commission’s recommendation to grant Georgia EU candidate status with a new condition to address disinformation.” The Coalition urges the Georgian government “to reject anti-Western messages and groups, that disseminate them, utilize strategic communications departments accordingly, and take decisive actions to implement the European Commission’s recommendations, with the engagement of civil society organizations.” The Coalition and its constituents express readiness to “cooperate with all stakeholders to ensure that the European Commission’s recommendations are fulfilled.”
The Coalition congratulates the citizens of Georgia and stated that “European integration represents a historic choice for the population of Georgia, whose unwavering determination has been repeatedly demonstrated by Georgian society in recent years.”
The statement notes that the European Commission recommendation comes with certain conditions, most of which are the conditions stipulated by the EC back in June 2022 that have yet to be fully implemented. However the Commission has also added new conditions, one of which concerns disinformation and foreign information manipulation related to the EU and its values.
The Coalition statement reads that according to the EC report since Ukraine and Moldova became candidate countries and Georgia received a EU perspective, these states have been the target of FIMI campaigns. In Georgia, the prominent disinformation campaign has been centered around the West’s “attempts” to “open a second front“. The Coalition stresses that recent reports from its member organizations “reaffirm the involvement of not only external actors but also pro-government groups in the [“Second Front”] anti-Western campaign.”
Also Read:
- 10/11/2023 – International Reactions on EC Recommendation to Grant Georgia Candidate Status
- 09/11/2023 – Georgian CSOs Statement Following EC Recommendation on Georgia’s EU Candidacy
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
