Social Media Monitoring During the 2020-2021 Elections in Georgia

The overall goal of the project is to safeguard the information integrity around the 2020 Parliamentary and 2021 Municipal elections in Georgia from disinformation, discrediting campaigns and other hostile information operations on social media.

Active

Tbilisi

Specific objectives are: To increase the understanding of the nature and the dynamics of information operations on social media during the upcoming elections; To ensure greater public awareness about the risks of malign use of social media to electoral and political processes in the country; To contribute to greater societal resilience against the disruptive effects of malign social media campaigns; and To ensure that relevant tools and mechanisms are in place for protecting the electoral processes against malign operations. Project Activities: Documenting, analyzing and exposing malicious Facebook activity and information operations in the lead-up to the 2020 Parliamentary and 2021 Municipal elections in Georgia, including in the Armenian and Azeri-speaking segments of Facebook users in Georgia; Proactive reporting with social media companies, coupled with advocacy activities for removal of malicious networks and disinformation operations; Increasing public awareness on disinformation, divisive narratives and other information operations on social media; Outreach and advocacy with domestic stakeholders on safe use of social media in elections and political processes; and Using data analysis tools to identify trends in malign social media campaigns.