THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GEORGIAN STUDENTS AND DISINFORMATION

Abstract

In the global sphere, the spread of fake news has become a challenging force to go against. Fake information is particularly dangerous in countries that have polarizing media landscapes and not enough research or data to study the topic, like Georgia. This research examines the relationship between the level of political critical thinking of first-year university students and the political narratives they form when receiving political information. The study is based on a structured questionnaire administered to 41 students from different academic backgrounds and reveals trends in the ways they verify information, interpret political content and formulate opinions. The theoretical framework is based on Claire Wardle and Hossein Derakhshans’s “Information Disorder” model, which academically categorizes different types of false information and the operative elements within it. Although the narrow scope of the study does not allow for broad conclusions, the results show that students with high political critical thinking skills display more thoughtful, democratic and civically responsible narratives, while students with low political critical thinking skills are often more passive with less concrete ideas or narratives attached to them. This paper aims to understand how young Georgian students perceive political information and emphasizes the importance of developing critical political thinking skills. By demonstrating insight into how young Georgian first-year students perceive and process political information, this study will deepen the social recognition and importance of political critical thinking skills, providing important foundation for educators, policymakers and civil society.