Mzia Amaghlobeli, co-founder of an independent online media outlet Batumelebi, has become a target of discreditation by representatives of the Georgian Dream, pro-government media, and other actors. She was arrested on January 11 and charged with assaulting a police officer for slapping the head of the Batumi police, Irakli Dgebuadze. The charge carries a prison...

On February 4, 2024, Facebook users, including Bondo Mdzinarashvili, the member of the board of Trustees of the Public Broadcaster shared (1,2,3,4,5,6) a photo on which the Eiffel Tower can be seen against the background of tall haystacks and tractors. Some Facebook users are linking the photo to the ongoing farmers’ protests in Paris. The same...

On January 7, 2024, Bondo Mdzinarashvili, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Georgian Public Broadcaster, published a post about the icon of the St. Matrona of Moscow and Stalin displayed in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi. According to Mdzinarashvili, in 1941, Stalin met with Matrona Nikonova, and with her advice, the...

On September 27, Bondo Mdzinarashvili, a member of the Board of Trustees of Georgian Public Broadcaster, published a statement attributed to U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. According to the post, Austin has asked the Russian military not to hunt for Abrams tanks to avoid a repetition of the situation with the German Leopard tanks:...

According to the decision of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, on March 29, 2023, the agreement on the free use of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate was terminated based on the conclusions of the interdepartmental working group. Monks and priests of Kyiv-Pechersk were given...

On July 21st, 2022, during the program “Alternative Vision” of Alt-Info TV, the member of the Board of Trustees of the Public Broadcaster, Bondo Mdzinarashvili, stressed that the strategic partnership charter between the USA and Georgia is a “master-servant charter,” which grants US citizens more rights in Georgia compared to other countries, including citizens of...

The statement of Tbilisi Pride regarding the planned events on July 1-5 aimed at protecting the LGBTQ+ rights (including the Pride March planned on July 5th on Rustaveli Ave.) was followed by violent, homophobic and anti-Western messages by hate groups. The following report consists of two parts, which, on the one hand, analyze the messages...

In the interview with Alt-Info TV program “Alt-Interview” on June 28, Bondo Mdzinarashvili, member of the Georgian Public Broadcaster’s Board of Trustees, former editor-in-chief and host of Obieqtivi TV who is known for hate speech and homophobic remarks, spoke about Tbilisi Pride. Mdzinarashvili made several homophobic and anti-Western messages during the interview:   Homosexuality is...

Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria became the target of pro-Kremlin and antiliberal groups after Bishop Spiridon (Abuladze) of Skhalta refused to permit the Public Defender’s monitoring visit to the Orthodox Church-run Ninotsminda orphanage. Myth Detector has identified the actors involved in the campaign of discrediting the Public Defender on social and traditional media. In particular:...

On February 23 police raided headquarters of Georgia’s largest opposition party United National Movement (UNM) and  arrested1 its leader Nika Melia. During the raid, police used tear gas to disperse Melia’s supporters who had barricaded themselves inside the party’s office. Melia’s arrest sparked a series of critical statements from the EU and US officials, policy...

Gogava, head of Development Laboratory of Georgia, a local non-governmental organization, published a post on his Facebook page about the decision made by the United States and the Coalition to withdraw all troops involved in Resolute Support Mission (RSM) from Afghanistan before September 11th. In his post published on April 15, Gogava calculates monetary value...

Before police detained Nika Melia, leader of the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party, during a special operation at the party headquarters, international partners called on the Georgian government to de-escalate tensions and avoid deepening polarization caused by the political impasse following the 2020 parliamentary elections. They also called on the opposition to end their...

On October 21, 2020, a gunman broke into the Bank of Georgia building in a western Georgian city of Zugdidi and took bank employees and customers hostage, demanding a ransom. It emerged during a police operation that one of the hostages, Irakli Kvaratskhelia, through which the assailant contacted pro-opposition Mtavari Arkhi TV to unveil his ultimatum to...

14 Georgian lawmakers have nominated Bondo Mdzinarashvili, editor-in-chief and host of Obieqtivi TV, a channel affiliated with the opposition Alliance of Patriots party, for a vacant seat in the Board of Trustees of Georgian Public Broadcaster. The TV channel and personally Bondo Mdzinarashvili are known for anti-Western, pro-Russian, Turkophobic remarks and hate speech. The Media...

The June 15 reports on an alleged plot to murder Georgian TV host Giorgi Gabunia and the arrest of a suspect have triggered various interpretations. Pro-government and antiliberal groups said that the murder had been masterminded by the opposition. Nika Gvaramia, director of Mtavari Arkhi TV, noted that the murder was ordered by Chechen leader...

On March 24 and March 25, 2020, online editions Progressnews and Marshalpress, respectively, released identical articles headlined “Poland closed its airspace to Russian planes carrying aid to Italy.” According to the articles, Poland closed its airspace to Russian plane Il-76, carrying medical equipment to assist Italy in tackling the coronavirus. Marshalpress and Progressnews noted that...

The COVID-19 outbreak has posed a serious challenge to leading European countries. Amid strong criticism of coronavirus response, some pro-Kremlin media outlets and pro-Russian actors took advantage of the situation and pursued their own political purposes. They promoted a narrative that while the European Union abandoned Italy, only Russia, China and other authoritarian countries gave...

Irma Inashvili, the leader of Alliance of Patriots of Georgia, in the February 11-17 issue of Asaval-Dasavali, spoke about the inadequacy of Georgia congratulating the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on autocephaly and explained it according to the position of Ukrainian clerics. In particular, she claims that while 67 Ukrainian bishops from a total of 69 deny...

On September 19, 2018, the host of the media-union Obiektivi, Bondo Mdzinarashvili, stated in the Night Studio of TV Obiektivi that the United States do not invest in Georgia and do not help in developing the ­­­­­economy. He also added that only Russia, Azerbaijan and Turkey invest in Georgia. Out of all the foreign direct...

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On October 4, while hosting Night Studio on TV Obiektivi, Bondo Mdzinarashvili stated that the West does not allow Georgia to conduct direct dialogue with Russia independently. According to him, the existence of the direct dialogue is up to Moscow and Tbilisi, as well as Tbilisi and Sokhumi and Tbilisi and Tskhinvali to decide. Bondo...

On July 13, 2017, the host of one of the programs on the TV “Obiektivi”, Bondo Mdzinarashvili, stated that Russia tries not to annex Georgia, but rather to restore the borders of “South Ossetian administrative district” from Soviet times. Bondo Mdzinarashvili, TV host: “There exists no such thing as night or creeping [annexation] and, I...

On May 17, Bondo Mdzinarashvili, anchor of the program “Night Studio” on Obieqtivi TV, reported that U.S. President Donald Trump, during a telephone conference with the presidents of the Baltic States cut them off, saying “Shut up”, because of their unceasing distress regarding the possible threats coming from Russia. The presenter indicated that the U.S....