On June 12, 21-year-old Mate Devidze was sentenced by the Tbilisi City Court to four years and six months in prison on charges of assaulting a police officer. He was accused of attacking a police officer during the dispersal of a protest on November 19. Devidze had spent seven months in pre-trial detention. The verdict was announced in a tense courtroom setting, with bailiffs using force to remove his supporters. On the evening of June 12, a protest rally was held on Melikishvili Avenue – the site where Mate Devidze was arrested on November 19.
At the same time, fake and anonymous accounts (such as “Rea Loba,” “Aravin,” “Mikheil Mzetunakhavi,” and “Borotmokmedia”) became active on social media with the goal of discrediting Mate Devidze. These accounts, alongside pro-government media outlets (POSTV, Imedi), demanded the harshest punishment for him.
Some of the fake accounts are linked to the Facebook page “Ai Politika,” while others (Tinatin Tofuria, მარი კვარცხელია, Katie Toloraya, Nati Topuria) operate independently and do not limit their activities to commenting but are also engaged in newer forms of trolling, such as creating and distributing posts and short videos (reels).
Myth Detector identified 13 fake accounts involved in the discreditation campaign:
- Nine of the 13 accounts are linked to the Facebook page “Ai Politika.” Of these, seven uploaded their profile pictures in February 2025, suggesting they were likely created around the same time.
- Four accounts (Tinatin Tofuria, მარი კვარცხელია, Katie Toloraya, Nati Topuria ), employ a new tactic: producing and distributing short videos (reels), which allows them to influence a broader audience. Three of these accounts were created between February and May 2024.
- These four fake accounts are engaged in spreading photo and video content aimed at discrediting opponents of the Georgian Dream party and protest participants. The videos, which focus on discrediting the opposition, the NGO sector, and pro-Western figures, are also being disseminated in “Anti-Maidan” groups. Additionally, the accounts coordinate with pro-government media and other anonymous profiles.
| Fake account | Whose identity it is stealing |
1.Tinatin Topuria | uses the photo of Facebook user Ira Elbakyan on her profile. Her listed workplace is Majorel, and her place of study is indicated as the University of Georgia. The “Tinatin Tofuria” profile was created on February 18, 2024. The fake account has liked two pages: “Supporters of Irakli Kobakhidze” and “Anatomy of Liberalism.”  |
2. Nati Topuria | uses photos stolen from VK.com user Натиа Двали. The profile was created on February 27, 2024, and began actively posting in May 2024 with the aim of discrediting the protests. “Nati Tofuria” lists Cebu World-Class RunFest as her workplace and Caucasus International University as her place of study.  |
3.Mari Kvaratskhelia | “Mari Kvaratskhelia” steals the identity of VK.com user Оксана Ануфриенко. The profile was created on May 13, 2024. She has liked the pages “Georgian Sector” and “Information Sheet.”  |
4. Katie Toloraya | uses photos stolen from OK.ru user Альвина ***. Her profile photo was uploaded in October 2022, which may indicate the approximate date the account was created. Initially, the account only posted landscape images; the first political post appeared in November 2022 and concerned the group of experts formed to assess Mikheil Saakashvili’s health condition. |
5. Manana Kurtanidze | As the profile photo, “Manana Kurtanidze” uses an image published on Freepik.com titled “Happy executive closing a deal by phone,” uploaded by user javi_indy. The fake account lists Burbank, California, as its place of residence. The profile photo was uploaded on April 21, 2024.  |
6. Naziko Laliashvili | As the profile photo, “Naziko Laliashvili” uses an image of Vkontakte user Настя Сулагаева. The account lists Lagodekhi as its place of residence and “Gvirila” as its workplace. On February 20, 2025, in addition to the profile photo, the account uploaded another image that also belongs to the same Vkontakte user. |
7 Lili Pirkulashvili | The same photo is used by multiple users on various dating websites. The fake profile lists Tbilisi as its place of residence and “Bio House” as its workplace. The profile photo was uploaded on February 4, 2025. |
8. Lile Shevardnadze | As the profile photo, the account uses an image of Vkontakte user Катерина Дубровець. The fake account lists Tbilisi as its place of residence and “Aesthetic Equipment • TechBeauty” as its workplace. The profile photo was uploaded on February 20, 2025. |
9. Irina Birkaia | As the profile photo, “Irina Birkaia” uses an image of Ok-ua.ru user Диана Анохина. The account lists Tbilisi as the place of residence, Tbilisi State University as the place of study, and “Marge” as the workplace. The profile photo was uploaded on June 12, 2025 |
10 Mariami Lochuashvil | As the profile photo, the account uses an image of VK.com user Olya Frolova. The fake account lists Tbilisi as the place of residence and “Alcorium” as the workplace. According to the profile information, the user studied at the TSU student movement. The profile photo was uploaded on February 11, 2025. |
11 Rima Khizanishvili | As the profile photo, the account uses an image of Vkontakte user Катя Рихлицька, originally uploaded by that user on April 11, 2016. The fake account lists Tbilisi as the place of residence and PSP Pharmacy as the workplace. It states that the user studied at the State University of Sports. The fake account has only six friends, and the profile photo was uploaded on February 4, 2025. |
12 Ema Kvinikadze | Uses a photo from the Vkontakte user Валентина Скляр, which was published on June 19, 2021. The fake profile states that she works at Carrefour and studied at the Georgian Technical University. The listed place of residence is Sagarejo. Both photos on the profile were published on February 11, 2025. |
13 Natalia Saakashvili | The profile photo is taken from flickr.com, which was uploaded by the user in 2013. The fake profile lists Tbilisi as the place of residence and Goodwill as the workplace. The profile photo was published on February 20, 2025. The profile has only four friends. |
A New Tactic of Fake Accounts – Dissemination of Short Videos
While in the past fake accounts were primarily focused on writing comments, by late 2024 and early 2025 a new tactic emerged in their strategy – the creation and dissemination of short videos (reels). This trend was identified by Myth Detector in the case of four accounts (Tinatin Tofuria, მარი კვარცხელია, Katie Toloraya, Nati Topuria). Through such videos, fake accounts are able to influence a broader audience. Their videos focus on discrediting the opposition, the NGO sector, and pro-Western actors and media. The fake accounts (with the exception of the account created in 2022 – Katie Toloraya – which also became active during politically sensitive events) share two common features: their profiles were created between February and May 2024, and each of them distributes videos from the temporary parliamentary commission formed to investigate the crimes of the United National Movement. It is noteworthy that the short videos uploaded by these fake accounts are also disseminated in “Anti-Maidan” groups (1, 2, 3, 4).
Additionally, coordination is evident between these accounts and pro-government media outlets such as POSTV and TV Imedi, as well as anonymous accounts created with the aim of discrediting the opposition (Rea Loba, Mikheil Mzetunakhavi, Aravin, Borotmokmedia) and their materials.
For example, some of the fake accounts shared a video on their personal pages showing the dispersal of the November 19 protest. The footage shows Mate Devidze swinging a stick-like object. Using this video, they attempted to cast doubt on Mate Devdize’s status as a political prisoner and demanded that he be more severely punished for assaulting a police officer.
Anonymous and fake accounts, as well as pro-government media outlets POSTV and TV Imedi, disseminated the video featuring Mate Devidze simultaneously on June 12 between 17:23 and 17:56 (with the exception of the Facebook page “Borotmokmedia,” which published the video the following day).
Time of Video Dissemination by Pro-Government Media, Fake, and Anonymous Accounts’
| Pro-Government Media, Anonymous and Fake Accounts | Time of Video Dissemination |
| TV Imedi | 17:23 |
| PosTV – Analytics | 17:45 |
| Nati Topuria | 17:35 |
| Mari Kvaratskhelia | 17:36 |
| Tinatin Tofuria | 17:37 |
| Kate Toloraya | 17:40 |
| Mikheil Mzetunakhavi | 17:26 |
| Rea loba | 17:28 |
| Mikheil Mzetunakhavi (the second video) | 17:35 |
| Aravin | 17:56 |
| Borotmokmedia | 13 ივნისი 11:01 |
On June 13, fake accounts (Mari Kvaratskhelia at (15:23), Nati Tofuria at (15:18), Katie Toloraya at (15:48) and the anonymous account “Mikheil Mzetunakhavi” (at 15:19) simultaneously disseminated a video recorded in the courthouse yard, in which activist Onise Okriashvili is seen speaking with police officers. The video is accompanied by a clip from Okriashvili’s stand-up performance, where he recalls a childhood memory and mocks politicians. The video was first shared at 13:26 in the group “Anti-Maidan! The Voice of the Nation!”
Some fake accounts commented on a post published by the Facebook page “Ai Politika.” The post stated that 21-year-old Mate Devidze, charged with assaulting a police officer, was found guilty by the court, and Judge Nino Galustashvili sentenced him to four years and six months of imprisonment. In the comments, the fake accounts referred to Mate Devidze as a “traitor,” “coward,” and a “perpetrator of violent actions,” framing the act of raising a hand against a police officer as equivalent to treason against the state.
Comments made by fake accounts
Natalia Saakashvili
What political prisoner, what Mate? Anyone who goes against Georgia will get the same response – traitors, enemies of the country. You come out pretending to be patriots. It’s absurd. Go do something useful, you useless people!
Naziko Laliashvili
Oh, that’s exactly what he deserves. Now he’ll learn that you can’t raise a hand against a police officer.
Manana Kurtanidze
You hit a police officer with such a big baton! What did he expect? That they’d pat his head and say, “Good boy”?! Every violent person who attacks our country’s patriotic law enforcement officers must be punished to the fullest extent of the law!
Lili Pirkulashvili
How did that nobody even dare do what he did! Let him sit in prison now!
Lile Shevardnadze
Oh God, get these rotten people out of here. How do they dare attack law enforcement officers?
Irina Birkaia
That’s what this traitor Mate deserves – this UNM scumbag!
Mariami Lochuashvili
Why do these people behave this way? Didn’t they know no one would leave a swinging baton unanswered?
Rima Khizanishvili
That’s what he deserves – what did he think, that he’d get away with it?
Emma Kvinikadze
And then they’ll start making a fuss, “Oh no, release him, he’s a prisoner of conscience,” etc. Release him? No. He should be black and blue. Who’s ever heard of hitting a police officer? What did he think would happen?
Natalia Saakashvili
That scumbag is not a man – that’s exactly what he deserves!
