Following the removal of EU negotiation talks from the agenda and the suspension of the integration process by the Georgian Dream, large-scale protests erupted in the country. Amid these protests, on December 4, 2024, the Facebook page “Ai Politika,” affiliated with Gia Gachechiladze’s “Ar Agarevinebt” movement, published a photo and quote from Zviad Kharazishvili, head of the Special Tasks Department at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, known as “Khareba”: “Special forces do not get tired and no one can get them tired” (archive link). To generate engagement on the post, fake accounts were used. As a result of monitoring, “Myth Detector” identified 32 trolls who had used photos of other individuals.
- Fake accounts use photos sourced from both image and design platforms (freepik.com, stock.adobe.com, shutterstock.com) as well as other social networks (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn).
- Some trolls have used the same photos across their profiles.
- 24 out of 32 fake accounts list various states and cities in the United States as their place of residence.
- Eight out of 32 fake accounts cite different companies in Georgia as their workplace.
- Eight out of 30 fake accounts claim various state and private universities as their place of study.
- 27 out of 32 accounts uploaded their profile photos between April 19-23, 2024, and five accounts did so between May 8-10, 2024, suggesting coordination.
- Four fake accounts like the Facebook page “Ai Politika,” Nine – Patriarchate’s television channel “Ertsulovneba,” and Six – “Ai Msoplio Ambebi.”
| Fake account | Photo’s source |
| 1.Nana Abuashvili | The profile photo used, uploaded to freepik.com in 2021, is described as “Cheerful beautiful brunette woman” and was uploaded by photographer bristekjegor. The fake account claims to be located in Phoenix, Arizona, and the profile photo was uploaded on April 22, 2024.
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| 2. Lela Sonidze | Similar to “Nana Abuashvili,” “Lela Sonidze” uses a photo uploaded to freepik.com in 2021, described as “Cheerful beautiful brunette woman,” published by photographer bristekjegor. However, unlike “Nana Abuashvili,” “Lela Sonidze” is listed as residing in Georgia, employed at Alta • ალტა, and has indicated her education at ილიას სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი • Ilia State University. The profile photo for this account was uploaded on April 23.
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| 3. Mariam Gabruashvili | Similar to “Nana Abuashvili” and “Lela Sonidze,” Mariam Gabruashvili used a photo uploaded to freepik.com in 2021, described as “Cheerful beautiful brunette woman,” published by photographer bristekjegor. Like Nana Abuashvili, Mariam Gabruashvili is listed as residing in Phoenix, Arizona. Her profile photo was uploaded on April 21.
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| 4. Maia Yoniashvili | She uses a photo from Freepik.com, uploaded by Ukrainian user Diana Grytsku. She listed her residence as Burbank, California, and her profile photo was uploaded on April 21, 2024. Additionally, she likes the Facebook page “Ai Msoplio Ambebi.
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| 5. Diana Amiranashvili | Similar to user Maia Yoniashvili, she uses a photo from Freepik.com, posted by Ukrainian user Diana Grytsku. Her place of residence is listed as Phoenix, Arizona. The profile photo was uploaded on April 19, 2024, and she likes the Facebook page Patriarchate’s television channel “Ertsulovneba. |
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| 6. Maiko Okruashvili | The profile photo is sourced from Freepik.com, uploaded by user senivpetro on April 4, 2019. The account lists Los Angeles, California as its location, and the photo was uploaded on April 22, 2024. Additionally, the account likes the Facebook page “Ai Msoplio Ambebi.”
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| 7. Mzia Tsiklauri | This profile uses a photo identical to that of user Maiiko Okruashvili, uploaded to Freepik.com by user senivpetro on April 4, 2019. The city of residence is Tbilisi, Georgia, with Paysera Bank listed as the place of employment and Ilia State University as the place of study. The profile photo was uploaded on April 22, 2024.
Account likes Ai Msoplio Ambebi ” page.
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| 8. Nini Samsonia | She uses a photo published on Freepik.com in 2019 and is listed as residing in Orlando, Florida. Her profile photo was uploaded on April 21, 2024.
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| 9. Khatia Tumanishvili | Similar to “Nini Samsonia,” she uses a photo published on Freepik.com in 2019. She lists Phoenix, Arizona, as her place of residence, and her profile photo was uploaded on April 19.
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| 10. Katerina Aleksandridi | She uses a photo published on Shutterstock.com and has listed her place of residence as San Diego, California. The fake account uploaded the profile photo on April 23, 2024. She likes the Patriarchate’s television channel “Ertsulovneba.” |
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| 11. Gvanca Gogichaishvili | Identical to user Katerina Aleksandridi, she uses a photo published on Shutterstock.com. Her place of residence is listed as Manhattan, New York. Her profile photo was uploaded on April 19, 2024.
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| 12. Natia Vachrishvili | She uses a photo published on Freepik.com in 2019. She is listed as living in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her profile photo was uploaded on April 20, 2024.
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| 13. Mari Beridze | She uses the same identity as the user Natia Vachrishvili, with an image published on Freepik.com in 2019. Her place of residence is listed as New York. Her profile photo was uploaded on April 19.
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| 14. Nana Tatinashvili | The profile photo is an image posted on Freepik.com, uploaded by user senivpetro on August 26, 2020. The listed city of residence is Phoenix, Arizona. The profile photo was uploaded on April 21, 2024.
She likes Facebook pages “Ai Politika” and “Ai Msoplio Ambebi.”
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| 15. Tata Ratian | She uses a photo uploaded by user golero on istockphoto.com in 2022. She has listed PCShop.ge as her workplace and BTU • University of Business and Technology as her place of education. She likes the pages “Ai Politika,” “Ai Msoplio Ambebi,” and the Patriarchate Television “Ertsulovneba.” Her profile photo was uploaded on May 9, 2024.
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| 16. Natuka Gigani | The profile photo used is an image posted on freepik.com, uploaded by user ArthurHidden on September 26, 2020. The listed city of residence is Orlando, Florida. The profile photo was uploaded on April 20, 2024. The user likes Facebook page “Ai Msoplio Ambebi,”.
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| 17. Tamilla Meskhi | She uses a photo uploaded to freepik.com in 2020. Her place of residence is listed as Portland, Oregon, and her profile photo was uploaded on April 19. She likes Patriarchate Television “Ertsulovneba.“
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| 18. Marine Chakhvashvili | She uses a photo from stock.adobe.com for her profile. She lists her residence as Orlando, California, and uploaded her profile photo on April 22, 2024.
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| 19. Tamta Tiginashvili | She uses a photo uploaded to freepik.com and lists Austin, Texas, as her place of residence. Her profile photo was uploaded on April 19, 2024. She likes the Facebook page Patriarchate Television “Ertsulovneba.“
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| 20. Nino Mekokishvili | She uses a photo from stock.adobe.com, posted by user Andrea Izzotti on October 23, 2021. She lists Tbilisi, Georgia, as her place of residence, indicates the advertising company “Niani” as her place of employment, and Akaki Tsereteli State University as her place of study. Her profile photo was uploaded on April 22, 2024.
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| 21. Nato Itoshvili | She uses a photo uploaded to freepik.com in December 2020. She lists Los Angeles, California, as her place of residence and uploaded her profile photo on April 22, 2024. She likes the Facebook page Patriarchate Television “Ertsulovneba.“
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| 22. Lia Dighmelashvili | She uses a photo from the Facebook page “UK Dating Girls for Friendship” as her profile picture. Identical photo was also uploaded to freepik.com in 2018. She lists New York as her place of residence and uploaded her profile photo on April 20, 2024. She likes the Facebook page Patriarchate Television “Ertsulovneba.“
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| 23. Tako Lagvilava | She uses a photo of blogger fairyquadbby, originally posted on Instagram on May 8, 2024. Her listed place of employment is Public Service Hall and she has indicated Georgian Technical University as her place of study. Her profile photo was uploaded on May 9, 2024.
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| 24. Ina Nasaridze | She uses a profile photo originally published on freepik.com by user Freepik on April 10, 2019. Her listed city of residence is Tbilisi, Georgia, her place of employment is Belux, and her place of study is Georgian Technical University. The profile photo was uploaded on May 8, 2024.
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| 25. Keti Tutashvili | She uploaded a photo from stock.adobe.com as her profile picture on April 22, 2024. Her listed place of residence is Charlotte, North Carolina.
The user likes Facebook pages “Ai Politika” and Patriarchate Television “Ertsulovneba.“
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| 26. Valentina Koroshinadze | She uses the identity of Anisha Khanna from the social network LinkedIn. Her listed workplace is Travel Diary, a tourism company, and her education is noted as Free University. Her profile photo was uploaded on May 10, 2024.
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| 27. Teona Tatarsabashvili | She uses a photo published on Freepik.com in 2020. She lists Phoenix, Arizona, as her place of residence and likes the page “Ai Msoplio Ambebi.“
The fake account uploaded the photo on April 21.
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| 28. Eva Liparteliani | She uses a photo published on Freepik.com for her profile. She has listed her residence as Burbank, California, and likes the Patriarchate’s television channel “Ertsulovneba.” She uploaded her profile photo on April 23, 2024.
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| 29. Maiko Akobia | The fake account adopts the identity of Russian model Alisha Nesvat. The user lists Tbilisi as the city of residence, GPI Holding as the place of work, and Tbilisi State University as the place of study. The profile photo was uploaded on May 10. The user likes the page “Ai Politika.”
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| 30. Ia Baslandze | She uses a photo uploaded to freepik.com and is based in Los Angeles, California. Her profile photo was posted on April 20, 2024.
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| 31. Emily Narimanidze | She uses a photo published on freepik.com, uploaded by the user senivpetro in 2020. The fake account lists Santa Monica, California, as the location. The profile photo was uploaded on April 21, 2024.
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| 32. Nana Janelidze | She uses a photo from stock.adobe.com for her profile. She lists her residence as Washington, D.C. and uploaded her profile photo on April 22, 2024.
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It is noteworthy that the fake accounts use identical photos, as seen in the case of 13 fake accounts. For instance, the profiles of Nana Abuashvili, Mariam Gabruashvili, and Lela Sonidze all feature a photo uploaded to freepik.com in 2021, described as “Cheerful beautiful brunette woman.”
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Users Maia Yoniashvili and Diana Amiranashvili are using a photo from Freepik.com, originally uploaded by Ukrainian user Diana Grytsku.
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Fake accounts Maiiko Okruashvili, Mzia Tsiklauri, Nini Samsonia, and Khatia Tumanishvili also use photos from the same photoshoot.
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The profiles of Katerina Aleksandridi and Gvanca Gogichaishvili feature the same photo.
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Although Natia Vachrishvili and Mari Beridze are dressed in different colored jacket, their photos feature the same person, as proved by the heart-shaped tattoo on her hand.
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Zviad Kharazishvili has worked in law enforcement for nearly 30 years. He served in the special forces of the State Protection Service during the Shevardnadze administration and later in the Special Operations Department during the National Movement period. He also participated in the special operation during the Mukhrovani uprising.
Under the “Georgian Dream” government, Kharazishvili first served as the Director of the Special Operations Department within the State Security Service, before being appointed Director of the Special Tasks Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2021. His name is linked to the 2019 “Gavrilov Night,” during which more than 200 people were injured, and several protesters lost their eyes due to the violent crackdown. The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Zviad Kharazishvili and his deputy, Mileri Lagazauri.
In November, Myth Detector revealed 26 fake accounts associated with the Facebook page “Ar Agarevinebt,” which aimed to discredit the participants and organizers of the protests while simultaneously expressing support for the government and Bidzina Ivanishvili. 26 fake accounts were using the identities of individuals from other social networks and listed various places of work and education to enhance their credibility.
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