The participants of the workshop held within the joint academic program of the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) and the University of Georgia (UG) were awarded with the certificates. The short-term, skills-oriented practical course: "What is disinformation and what can I do about it?" was held daily during the week of October 25-29. The workshop sessions were attended by the participants of the joint program of IDFI and UG - "Disinformation and Propaganda Studies: History, Theories and Means of Debunking" as well as by the students of the University of Georgia, School of Social Sciences.
The participants had the opportunity to get acquainted with the strategies of disinformation verification, modern ways of disseminating disinformation and discuss the ways of contributing to debunking disinformation by journalists and civilians.
A total of four sessions were conducted during the week. Each of the meetings covered different aspects of disinformation research and ways to tackle it.
- Sopo Gelava, Visiting Lecturer at the University of Georgia and Researcher at the Digital Investigation Research Laboratory of the Atlantic Council, introduced the students to the specifics of disseminating disinformation on the internet and the ways of verifying information through geolocation.
- Jaroslav Valuch, News Literacy and Fact-Checking Project Manager from the Prague-based Media Development Organization - Transitions Prague, spoke about the ways in which citizens can be involved in the fact-finding process and in creating a better information environment.
- Nino Gozalishvili, a researcher at the Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information and a visiting lecturer at UG, discussed with the participants the impact of disinformation on society and democratic processes. The participants of the seminar also got a chance to debate on the issue of responsibility in spreading disinformation as well as in confronting it.
- Revaz Topuria, Visiting Lecturer at the University of Georgia and the Head of Franklin Club Academy, spoke to the participants about the specifics of modern disinformation and the role of disinformation in hybrid warfare.
On October 29, Giorgi Kldiashvili, Executive Director of the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), and Konstantine Topuria, Rector of the University of Georgia (UG), together with the program organizers and lecturers, met with the participants. At the event, they awarded certificates to the seminar participants and talked about the importance of the program.
