On October 28, Russia’s state-controlled media outlet Izvestia published an article about events in Georgia, including a video filmed in Tbilisi by its journalist, Stanislav Grigoryev. In the background of the video, people can be seen holding Ukrainian and EU flags and a banner with the English inscription, “Georgia is not Russia.” Grigoryev claimed the video showed Ukrainian activists who allegedly came to Tbilisi to share their experience.
Stanislav Grigoryev: “This is what has been anticipated in Georgia for a long time. Ukrainian activists with their respective symbols have appeared near the parliament. They say many Ukrainians have entered the country in the past week, and their purpose is unclear. Perhaps they want to share their protest experience.”
The video from Izvestia, with this description, was shared by multiple Russian-language media outlets (moldova-news.com, antimaydan.info) and Telegram channels (1, 2).
The people in Izvestia’s video are not Ukrainian activists; they are members of the Italian organization Europa Radicale, who came to Tbilisi to observe the elections. On October 27, they gathered in front of the parliament to show support for Georgia’s European path.
The video features a banner that reads, “Georgia is not Russia,” with the website europaradicale.eu visible. Visiting this site confirmed that those in the video are Italian political activists.
A delegation from Europa Radicale, composed of Igor Boni, Silvja Manzi, Francesco Iannuzzi, and Chiara Squarcione, arrived in Tbilisi on October 25 to monitor the electoral process. The activists were in Tbilisi to observe the elections until October 29. According to a statement from the organization, following Moldova’s referendum and presidential elections, Europe faces another critical event—the parliamentary elections in Georgia. Therefore, the Europa Radicale delegation decided to monitor the elections.
On October 27, Europa Radicale activists held a protest in front of the parliament, showing their support for Georgia’s European path. The footage in the Izvestia journalist’s video was recorded at this protest.
“This evening, we unfurled our banner reading ‘GEORGIA IS NOT RUSSIA’ in front of the Georgian Parliament, alongside dozens of protesters, to support Georgia’s path toward Europe, which is under threat from the arrogance of the ruling party, ‘Georgian Dream,’ representing a genuine Russian nightmare.,” reads the statement on the europaradicale.eu website.
Notably, on October 26, members of the organization also gathered in Milan in front of the Georgian consulate to show support for Georgian voters.
The activists also joined the October 28 protest in Tbilisi, with footage of this activity published on the organization’s website.
The October 27 protest by Europa Radicale was not covered by Georgian media, though the organization shared information on its website. According to information on Europa Radicale’s website, the group uses non-violent forms of protest as part of its activism.
During various political events in Georgia, Kremlin propaganda has consistently spread disinformation claiming that Ukrainians are coming to Tbilisi to provoke unrest. Myth Detector has already uncovered two visual manipulations in which Russian propaganda falsely accused Ukrainian activists of planning provocations in Tbilisi. For more details, see:
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.
