The Georgian National Communications Commission staged the awards event for the second media literacy competition “Truth or Fiction?” 60 pupils from 9^th, 10^th and 11^th grades took part in the competition, which aims to develop critical thinking, analysis and fact-checking skills. The competent panel selected 3 winners, who received impressive prizes from GNCC.

As part of the competition, participants were required to identify fake news in Georgian media space that had not yet been confirmed as inaccurate. The pupils had to explain how they identified the information, present the relevant sources and establish real facts surrounding the case. Applications for the competition were received between 27 November and 27 December.

The first prize in the competition was won by Luka Kochishvili, whose work deals with methods of spreading fake news. He analysed the factors concerning the distribution of fake news that threaten public security. As an example, Luka used the case of two websites that published stories about individuals growing themselves rich with the help of a brokerage firm. He analysed the sources of this story, determining that these stories were fake and designed to mislead the public. Luka’s work ended with the words “do not believe – verify.” He received an iPhone 11 Pro from GNCC as a prize for winning the competition.

Mariam Kvavadze took the second place in the competition. She identified fake news in one of the Georgian media outlets. She verified the story published by the media outlet and discovered that the author had already been involved in spreading fake news before. Mariam personally contacted the media outlet to verify the information and ask for an explanation, but received no response. She then proceeded to study the story in detail and establish true facts. Mariam Kvavadze received the latest iPad model from GNCC for finishing in second place.third placeSalome Koiava took the third place in the Competition, Her work deals with information posted on social media. According to her work, the posts were most likely designed to discredit western institutions that are involved in the Georgian educational system. Salome’s analysis focussed on several important details – what is the purpose of posting this information, does a primary source exist, does the information correspond to the primary source, and who is the information aimed at? She received modern wireless Beats Studio 3 earphones from GNCC.

The second edition of the “Truth or Fiction?” competition was staged by GNCC and the Media Academy together with the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia. At the same time, GNCC conducted educational sessions in the schools in Tbilisi and Georgian regions on the subject of detecting fake news and verifying facts. During the interactive sessions, youngsters used materials from the BBC Academy to learn how to analyse fake information in media and verify facts. These meetings also helped the pupils prepare their works for the competition.

Members of the “Truth or Fiction?” jury panel:

Natia Kukuladze – Head of Media Literacy Development Department at GNCC;

Giorgi Putkaradze – Head of the Media School at the Media Academy;

Sandro Asatiani – Representative of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport; expert on information and communications technologies;

Shorena Shaverdashvili – Media expert;

Natia Kuprashvili – Media expert.