Georgia Today to Cover OSCE Conference: 1st Day

At 10.15 am, the OSCE conference bearing on professional and ethical standards of journalism started with the welcoming remarks of Harlem Désir, OSCE representative on Freedom of the Media. 

He said "Everyone makes mistakes, but the true journalist who attaches importance to quality of information will recognize its mistakes," 

Desir worries about the Internet Era which allows to release news faster but in which also fake news are gaining ground. The main problem is when fake news become more attractive than the Truth.

"In the region and beyond, investigations are still seeing pressure from governments when it deals with corruption cases," he noted.

David Zalkaliani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, was glad to become a "traditional host" for the OSCE Caucasus conference. 
He affirmed that Transparency and Freedom of the Press is high on the Georgian agenda. Maybe as a testament to this is the result of Georgia receiving a better ranking in this topic in international statistics. 

"Russia continues to occupy, pressure and threaten us as western values, by saying they are decadent. But in spite of its propaganda, the people of Georgia cultivates the freedom of speech. The Minister asks for unity in order to fight this propaganda and promote quality journalism over fake news."

During the second session on propaganda and freedom of the media, a representative of the Azerbaijan government spoke up against journalists who said that Azerbaijan is a "journalistic desert" in which "media independence is hard to reach."

By Antoine Dewaest