Tracking and Refuting Disinformation in Georgia

The program’s work on security extends from countering and tracking disinformation to providing cybersecurity training to vulnerable, international human rights groups with support from top cybersecurity experts. The IRLS program at the McCain Institute led the Tracking and Refuting Disinformation in Georgia project, funded by the Department of State Global Engagement Center to track and refute disinformation in Georgia. The project used Looking Glass, a machine learning technology, to track Russian disinformation on social media in Georgia. The Economic Policy Research Institute, a Georgian think-tank, worked with Georgian broadcaster Rustavi 2 to refute the disinformation to develop a broader public discourse of fake news and encourage Georgian citizens to scrutinize sources and sensational headlines before accepting them as facts. By doing so, the project introduced an element of caution and skepticism to Georgians as news consumers, working to neutralize the power of Russian disinformation by empowering Georgians to discern real news from fake. A summary of the project’s findings can be found here.