PARLIAMENT’S ROLE AND ACTIVITY REGARDING RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION AND PROPAGANDA
08 June, 2023
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This research analyzes Parliament’s activity regarding the fight against disinformation and hybrid warfare. The research covers the activities of the Parliament thematic inquiry group and evaluates the steps taken to implement the resulting report. Apart from the thematic inquiry report, this work will present the activities against disinformation and anti-Western propaganda conducted by the relevant Parliament committees (Foreign Relations Committee, European Integration Committee, Defense and Security Committee). To achieve this goal, this research studies publicly available strategy documents, action plans, and progress reports aswell as the information requested from the relevant committees.
As a principal policy-making institution tasked to oversee the executive power, the Parliament has to play a crucial part in the fight against pro-Russian disinformation and anti-Western propaganda. On the Parliament level, disinformation and anti-Western propaganda were first named a significant challenge to the country’s security in 2018. It was a part of the Georgian Parliament’s foreign relations committee’s 2018- 2020 strategy and action plan. The strategy names anti-Western propaganda a significant challenge, and the committee discusses its role in the fight against it from the legislative angle.
In 2019, the Parliament of Georgia established a thematic inquiry group to work on the issues of disinformation and propaganda. The report on “Strengthening Georgian State Policy on Anti-Western Disinformation and Propaganda” remains the only document produced by the Parliament regarding enemy disinformation and anti-Western propaganda, which defines Parliament’s vision and activities.
