On May 1, the pro-government TV company Imedi published a social media card featuring a conversation between the Staff Director of the Helsinki Commission, Paul Massaro, and Russian pranksters. According to Imedi, the pranksters, who were calling under the name of Ukrainian diplomat Kostiantyn Yelisieiev, told Massaro they wanted to send the Georgian Battalion to Georgia, to which Massaro replied, “I think the protesters are going to do that. We are working very hard on this, and I think they will succeed.”
In addition, the public broadcaster, Imedi, POSTV, and other pro-government media also covered the parts of the recording that refer to USAID and NED.
TV company Imedi manipulates and takes out of context the excerpt from Massaro’s conversation with the Russian pranksters, creating the impression that Massaro confirms the deployment of the Georgian Battalion. In the specific section, the person presented as Massaro does not talk about sending the Georgian Battalion to Georgia. The recording shows that only the pranksters mention the Maidan and the dispatch of the Georgian Battalion, while Massaro states that the protest participants will succeed, and when asked about electing a new government, he replies that “it might happen still.”
As for USAID and NED, according to the recording, Massaro says that they had productive projects in Georgia and Ukraine, and although the agencies needed reform, shutting them down seemed unconstitutional.
In the recording, where Russian pranksters posing as a Ukrainian diplomat claim to be speaking with Massaro, Georgia and the events happening in the country are mentioned in several parts. One such part involves a discussion about electing a new government.
In this segment, Massaro says that putting pressure on the government to form a new government is very important. At that moment, the pranksters suggest the idea of sending the Georgian Battalion to help in Georgia. Massaro laughs and replies, “I know, I know.” The following sentence begins with the word “But,” and the part that follows makes it clear that, in the speaker’s view, the protesters in Georgia are capable of achieving success on their own.
Here is a full translation of that specific excerpt:
Pranksters: The situation, the events, are not very nice. And I see that even if we could do something like Maidan there, if we could only to push their authorities and make them reelect a new government, so, I think, I don’t see any…
Massaro: That might happen still. That might happen. That might happen… I mean… The thing about Georgia is that… we’re pushing very hard, and we do think it’s very, very important…
Pranksters: If we only could send a Georgian Battalion there to help…
Massaro: I know, I know… (laughs) But, I do think the protesters are going to – I mean, we’re working very hard on this, and I think they’ll succeed.
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Pro-government media manipulates the Maidan narrative
On May 1, the TV company Imedi was the first to publish a story about the conversation with the pranksters, followed by other pro-government media outlets (Public Broadcaster, Exclusive News, Marshalpress, For.ge, Media Holding Kvira, SPNEWS, Infopostalioni, News.ge). These outlets published articles quoting Massaro as allegedly saying he believes a Maidan could happen in Georgia. This specific segment of the interview was translated identically by Rustavi 2 and Rezonansi. The claim that Massaro hopes a Maidan will occur in Georgia is also repeated by Sputnik Georgia.
These media outlets translated the portion of the conversation in which the person presented as Massaro talks about electing a new government. In reality, he never mentioned “Maidan,” and, as shown in the previously cited dialogue, it was the pranksters who brought it up. When the pranksters say that perhaps they could push the authorities to elect a new government, the interviewee responds, “That might happen still.”
Pranksters: […] Even if we could do something like Maidan there to push their authorities and make them reelect a new government, so, I think, I don’t see any…
Massaro: That might happen still. That might happen. That might happen… I mean… The thing about Georgia is that… we’re pushing very hard, and we do think it’s very, very important…
It’s also worth noting that in no part of the conversation does Massaro talk about changing the government in Georgia through violent means. He does refer to putting pressure on the government. Another segment where Georgia is mentioned occurs in the first part of the conversation [starting at 7:25]. In this case, the pranksters ask Massaro about the situation in Georgia, and he mentions the draft law and the ambassador’s meeting with Zourabichvili:
Massaro: […] Trust me, we’re doing a ton of work in Georgia.
Pranksters: What’s going on in Georgia? I know the situation is still tense and I know that the opposition is demanding new elections, but nothing is changing.
Massaro: We’ll see. I mean, in Congress, we hope to pass, you know, some powerful legislation soon. You know the ambassador, thank goodness, was meeting with Zourabichvili. The Biden admin was pretty bad on all this stuff.… I hate to think that in America we can speak of going from bad to worse.
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What did Massaro say about USAID and NED?
In addition, the pro-government media used a statement by Paul Massaro from the released recording as part of propaganda against USAID and NED. According to these media outlets, Massaro allegedly said that USAID and NED were spreading pseudo-liberal ideology abroad, including in Georgia. However, in the actual quote, Massaro talks about the shutdown of these agencies and states that the decision was driven by the “notion that these guys were promoting sort of ideologies abroad that were not in line with US interests; this is kind of like left-wing woke ideology promotion abroad. Some of this was exaggerated, but some of it was true. These agencies really needed reform for a long time. I think in your part of the world, particularly in Ukraine and Georgia, these were very, very productive projects, and it’s really sad to see the baby go out with the bathwater.”
It is noteworthy that at least 10 media outlets (1;2;3;4;5;6;7;8;9;10) covered Paul Massaro’s statement about USAID and NED with the same manipulative headline. However, in their articles (except for the Public Broadcaster), the quote from the Staff Director of the Helsinki Commission was presented accurately.
The Public Broadcaster translated the part where Massaro talks about NED and USAID’s activities as follows: “This is left-wing woke ideology. Some things are exaggerated, and some are true. These agencies have long needed reform. In your part of the world, especially in Ukraine and Georgia, they had very productive projects. Probably, much of their work seemed to be openly illegal and unconstitutional.”
In this final sentence, the Public Broadcaster claims Massaro said that the work done by USAID and NED was illegal and unconstitutional. However, according to the recording, the words “illegal” and “unconstitutional” actually refer not to the agencies’ activities but to the political decision to shut them down:
“I think in your part of the world, particularly in Ukraine and Georgia, these were very, very productive projects, and it’s really sad to see the baby go out with the bathwater. I mean, a lot of stuff is being done in a way that’s probably, I mean, seems very openly illegal and unconstitutional, and if that’s the case, then, eventually, all of this will be overturned. And you’ll just be setting up sort of the next president to appoint 20,000, 30,000 new people at these agencies. I mean, they’re not going away, because they need to be congressionally abolished. This is a place where Congress really is quite powerful. Congress decides the permanent architecture of the bureaucracy.”
Thus, Imedi’s social media card about the Georgian Battalion is manipulative, as the speaker does not confirm any such plan in the call with the pranksters. Pro-government media misattribute to the Staff Director of the Helsinki Commission a statement about the possibility of a Maidan in Georgia, even though the term “Maidan” is only mentioned by the pranksters. Massaro’s quote about USAID and NED is also circulated manipulatively. In reality, he says those organizations had productive projects in Georgia. Contrary to the Public Broadcaster’s claim, Massaro’s use of the terms “illegal” and “unconstitutional” refers to the decision to shut down the NED and USAID, not their activities.
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