After the imposition of a ban on flights from Russia to Georgia, fears of serious economic repercussions were widespread in the Caucasian country. The tourism industry, however, proved to be resilient to resulting forces, including disinformation.  By Peter Sawicki Keta Goletiani still remembers June 21. On that date, her home country was targeted by a...

Using videos out of their context to spread fake news is nothing new. However, the latest concern when it comes to disinformation are so-called ‘deep fakes,’ manipulated videos created with artificial intelligence. Deepfakes can make it look like somebody did or said something he or she actually didn’t: There’s Obama insulting President Trump (“President Trump...

On December 4, Georgian tabloid Alia released an interview with former Georgian Security Minister Valeri Khaburdzania, who claims that during his tenure, neither the United States, nor Europe provided any financial assistance to Georgia. He also noted that Europe’s support to Georgia in foreign issues equals to zero. Valeri Khaburdzania, former Security Minister: “I have...

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the  people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.  Abraham Lincoln “Around the world, government actors are using social media to manufacture consensus, automate suppression, and undermine trust in the liberal international order,” according to the report...

On December 11, 2019, Sputnik-Georgia published an article titled “Women Proclaimed as Domestic Animals: A Progressive Step”. According to Sputnik, a commission of scientists in Saudi Arabia established that women are animals just like camels, dromedaries, and goats, therefore they should have the same rights as mammals. Moreover, the article notes that the decision is...

The Parliament’s November 14 decision to vote down the constitutional amendment on transition to fully proportional electoral system from 2020 triggered large-scale protests outside the Parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue. On November 18, the Georgian government used riot police to disperse the peaceful protest rally. Protests resumed outside the Parliament building on November 25 and...

On December 8, 2019, News Front Georgia edition affiliated with Kremlin published an article, titled “Soros’s organizations are trying to cause a new scandal between Georgia and Russia.” The material discusses Netgazeti’s article of 5 December, in which Georgian government’s silence regarding Khangoshvili’s murder case, was critically evaluated. According to News Front, George Soros finances Netgazeti...

On December 5, 2019, web site batumeli.cc published an information about the release of Vazha Gaprindashvili with following title “Good news has been spread at the moment: doctor Vazha Gaprindashvili will be at home by tonight – You cannot imagine who released the doctor.” The material bases on Nino Burjanadze, however Burjanadze was mentioned in the...

On November 27, 2019, pro-Kremlin online media outlet News Front Georgia released an article headlined “Bloody business of organ trade and the Nationals [members of the United National Movement] in Ukraine.” The article refers to the story prepared by Shota Apkhaidze for “Open Broadcast” (“Открытый эфир’”) TV program aired by the Russian Defense Ministry’s Zvezda...

In the interview with Imedi TV on November 27, Bidzina Ivanishvili, chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, expressed his negative attitude towards the IRI and NDI-commissioned public opinion polls and even addressed an open letter to the U.S. President, because, as he claimed, these American organizations cause harm even to the U.S interests. Ivanishvili...

Public opinion polls held in Georgia show the majority of Georgians support country’s integration into the West. Recent poll by National Democratic Institute (NDI) showed the number of respondents who support the government’s stated goal to join the European Union stands at 78%, while 71% approve Georgia’s NATO membership. Yet, experts warn that these views...

Kremlin’s online media outlets, Sputnik-Ossetia and Sputnik-Abkhazia, are actively operating in Georgia’s occupied regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. These websites are one of the sources of information for the people living in these regions. Kremlin’s propaganda machine is trying to achieve its goals through Sputnik media outlets. Its goal is to portray Georgia as...