On March 31, pro-government expert Amiran Salukvadze and several Facebook accounts (1, 2) posted a fragment of an interview with Levan Sanikidze, a member of the United National Movement party, in which Sanikidze states that the Georgian Dream fulfills its pre-election promises. “By the way, the Georgian Dream is honest in one thing. Whatever promises it made before these elections, it is fulfilling them all,” he is heard saying in the video. Facebook users have taken this to mean that Sanikidze was positively portraying the Georgian Dream.
The fragment from Levan Sanikidze’s interview, where he speaks about the Georgian Dream fulfilling its promises, is being shared out of context. Watching the full interview reveals that Sanikidze does not speak positively about the Georgian Dream or its promise fulfillment. In the segment of the circulated video, the politician clarifies that the promises being fulfilled by the ruling party are harmful to both Georgia and its citizens.
On March 31, Levan Sanikidze appeared as a guest on TV Pirveli’s program “Ana Akhalaias Dgis Ambebi” (Ana Akhalia’s Daily News). He answered questions about the same day’s protest rally, new laws adopted by the Georgian Dream, and the coordination between political parties.
In the segment shown in the circulated video, the journalist asked Sanikidze about expectations for the March 31 rally. In response, the politician emphasized the importance of the day and also commented on the policies of the Georgian Dream. He concluded by saying that the ruling party fulfills its pre-election promises, but he did not discuss the matter in a positive light. Immediately after making the statement, he clarified that these promises are harmful to the country and its people. Sanikidze stated in the program:
“By the way, the Georgian Dream is honest in one thing. Whatever promises it made before these elections, it is fulfilling them all, but these promises serve to destroy this country, this state, and our citizens.”
A few days ago, Levan Sanikidze wrote that, according to his information, Mikheil Kavelashvili was planning to travel to Moscow on May 9 to attend the Victory Parade. However, Kavelashvili’s administration denied this information. While discussing the issue, Sanikidze recalled certain promises made by the Georgian Dream that, according to him, the party failed to fulfill in the past (24:25):
“Is this response [denying the May 9 Moscow trip] satisfactory to anyone? Or has the Georgian Dream never gone back on its word? Didn’t they reintroduce the Russian law? Didn’t they go back on the agreement about the proportional system? Didn’t they just recently say that military personnel would not be summoned to the commission and would not be held criminally liable? And what are we seeing now? Military personnel are being interrogated live on air.”
Thus, watching the full interview makes it clear that Sanikidze does not speak positively about the Georgian Dream fulfilling its promises. On the contrary, he criticizes their actions, calling them “destructive.”
Ahead of the elections, the Georgian Dream made multiple promises that were not outlined in its official election program. The party’s leaders publicly stated that, if they won the elections, they would ban opposition political parties and LGBT propaganda.
Videos of opposition politicians are frequently shared out of context. This is one of the methods applied to discredit them. Myth Detector has previously fact-checked a number of such manipulated videos.
About the Sources:
Amiran Salukvadze is a pro-government expert who has repeatedly spread false information on social media. He is primarily engaged in discrediting the opposition, and he is also known for anti-Western posts.
Davit Jebashvili and Giorgi Amirejibi frequently spread misleading information, often targeting both politicians and activists.
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