A fabricated video suggesting that a Swedish parliamentarian covers his ears during the Georgian national anthem

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On November 12, a Facebook user known for systematically spreading disinformation, “Fanti Na,” posted a video showing Swedish parliamentarian Erik Ottoson, who attended a protest on Rustaveli Avenue, covering his ears. The Georgian national anthem can be heard in the video, and the caption reads: “The EU representative was disturbed by the Georgian anthem. Are you licking their ass?”

Swedish parliamentarian

A fabricated video is circulating on social media, claiming that the Georgian national anthem disturbed a Swedish parliamentarian. In reality, the audio over the footage has been altered. The moment the politician covered his ears, probably because of loud music, the EU anthem was playing at the protest, and during the Georgian anthem, he put his hand over his heart.

The footage was taken from a live broadcast by TV company Formula on November 11. The video shows that after ascending the stage (from 37:40), the Chair of the EU Affairs Committee of the Swedish Parliament greeted Georgian opposition representatives and recorded a video. Later, the footage shows him covering his ears for a few seconds, most likely because of loud music (at 38:50). It is this specific moment from the video that is circulating on social media. However, throughout this time, it was the EU anthem, not the Georgian anthem that was playing in front of the parliament.

Swedish parliamentarian
A still from the video: Formula

It is worth noting that after the EU anthem, the Georgian national anthem was played on Rustaveli Avenue (from 39:10). The footage does not show Ottoson covering his ears at that time. Instead, the politician put his hand over his heart during the anthem.

 შვედი პარლამენტარი
A still from the video: Formula

On November 11, European parliamentarians briefly attended the protest rally held in front of the parliament. The chairpersons of the foreign affairs committees from the parliaments of Germany, Finland, Sweden, France, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland arrived in Georgia.

The fabricated video was taken from the TikTok account named “gamoitseret.” This account displays its dislike for opposition political parties and distributes fabricated videos of government opponents. Myth Detector has previously fact-checked false information disseminated by this account.


The article has been written in the framework of Facebook’s fact-checking program. You can read more about the restrictions that Facebook may impose based on this article via this link. You can find information about appealing or editing our assessment via this link.

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