On March 23, the Facebook account “Mriskhane Babuatsvera” published a screenshot of a post purportedly created by human rights defender Baia Pataraia. The circulated post claims that Pataraia referred to Georgia’s national football team players as “Armenophobic pigs” for scoring goals against Armenia’s national team. The identical screenshot was also posted on social media by other accounts (1, 2, 3).
The post attributed to Baia Pataraia is fabricated. In reality, she has never published such a statement.
The post shared by “Mriskhane Babuatsvera” under Baia Pataraia’s name is fake. In reality, the human rights defender never published such a statement. This account, along with others, frequently spreads fabricated statements attributed to politicians and activists.
Baia Pataraia also responded to the fake screenshot on her personal Facebook page. In her post, she noted that this account has been spreading various disinformation under her name for five years, yet the Ministry of Internal Affairs has not taken any action against this form of cyber violence.
Fake statements under Baia Pataraia’s name are frequently spread, and the main author of such posts is “Mriskhane Babuatsvera.” Here are some examples:
- A fake post about the Georgia-Czech Republic match spread under Baia Pataraia’s name
- A fake quote about rapid reproduction circulates under human rights defender Baia Pataraia’s name
- Another fake post under Baia Pataraia’s name is being spread
About the Source
The Facebook user “Mriskhane Babuatsvera” identifies himself as Tedo Abashidze and has multiple accounts under this and other names (1,2,3). He is also believed to be linked to the account “Father Shalva Kekelia.” Fake quotes spread by “Mriskhane Babuatsvera,” including through the accounts named “Thea Abashidze” and “Nana Bitsadze,” have been repeatedly verified by Myth Detector.
Another Facebook user, Dato Faika Nacvlishvili, has also spread the fake post. He is a supporter of the Conservative Movement and one of the administrators of the Facebook group “Archive of the Country’s Enemies.” Myth Detector has fact-checked false information spread by him in the past as well.
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