For Immediate Release

Transparency International Georgia learned that a memo was recently circulated by a lobbying firm among policy makers in the EU Parliament in Brussels. This memo included a Transparency International Georgia logo and extensively referenced a recently published report on regional media [1]. Recipients of this paper had the impression that it was drafted by Transparency International Georgia. We would like to clarify that we were in no way involved in the creation of this memo and have not approved the use of our logo.  

Ahead of the October parliamentary elections, in times of intense political competition, all major political actors in Georgia are using the services of professional political advisers, public affairs consultants and international lobbyists to spin and communicate developments in a way that favors them. At times, our research is interpreted and quoted in misleading ways.

We would like to use this opportunity to highlight that all Transparency International Georgia reports, statements or analytical pieces are available on our website, http://transparency.ge [2], in English and Georgian language. If you ever have any questions about findings attributed to TI Georgia that are referenced in speeches, media reports, memos or other communiqués, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@transparency.ge [3], give us a call or write us on Facebook [4] or twitter [5] (@TIGeorgiaEng) to double-check this information. 

We would also like to thank senior members of the European Parliament who alerted us about the misleading reference to our organization and who were careful and diligent enough to check information from the source rather than taking it from a lobbyist as it was.