On April 24, a photo of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze with the quote, “What is shameful about restoring pioneer camps?” was spread on Facebook. On April 12, a photo of Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze with the  quote, “Scholz is a UNM supporter” circulated on Facebook.   The quotes attributed to Kakha Kaladze and Irakli...

On April 7–8, the websites and Facebook pages of the political party “People’s Power,” as well as media outlets Imedi, POS TV, infopostalioni.ge, Kartuli Azri, Rezonansi (1;2), Mkhare.ge, and Mediaholding Kvira disseminated Davit Kartvelishvili’s statement that USAID has been conducting trainings called “Disinformation as a Tool of the Russian Government” in the regions of Georgia...

On April 21, a Russian-speaking user of the Threads social network disseminated information that, according to Bellingcat’s investigation, the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, paid $27 million to Time magazine for inclusion in the list of the 100 most influential people compiled by the publication. This information was also...

On April 5, Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, in the program “Sum-Up of the Day with Nikoloz Mzhavanadze” on the Sezoni TV channel, stated that while nongovernmental organizations in Georgia were “fighting against the Saakashvili regime,” Nino Lomjaria, then chairperson of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), was talking about “how good the election environment...

On April 18, Georgian pro-government media outlets (imedinews.ge, nsp.ge, reportiori.ge, newshub.ge, for.ge, lideri.ge, rustavi2.ge, ongo.ge, kvira.ge, qartuliazri.reportiori.ge, newspress.ge, infopostalioni.com, mkhare.ge, POSTV), Vato Shakarishvili’s platforms (Ar Agarevinebt, Georgia First NEWS) and anonymous Facebook pages (Agentura (1,2), Tsitata) disseminated the statement of the former CIA analyst, Larry Johnson about the protests against the “Foreign Agents Law” in...

On April 21, various social media users (1, 2, 3, 4), including Gabi Kamaev, anti-liberal doctrine, Irakli Jankarashvili, and troll account Daat Tsabadze, as well as anonymous pro-government account Terenti Gldaneli, published a photo of a participant of the rally held in front of the parliament against the so-called “agents law.” In the photo, the...

On April 16, various Georgian media outlets (1, 2, 3) published a statement by a member of the ruling party, MP Irakli Zarkua, that according to Western studies, Georgia is ahead of seven EU member states and 11 NATO member states by the rule of law indicator. The assertion of Irakli Zarkua that Georgia is...

On April 15, 2024, a Russian-speaking Threads user reported that the British publication The Economist predicted the start of a world war in view of Iran’s attack on Israel. In addition, according to the author of the post, the publication has previously predicted the terrorist attack in Crocus, the start of the war in the...

On April 1, pro-government Imedi TV (1;2) aired the statement by Georgian Dream MP Davit Matikashvili, according to which “the recent study has revealed that in terms of political bias, even the United States lags behind the Georgian judiciary.” Imedi TV also presented the V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) Index on judicial purges, noting that Georgia...

On April 9, the anti-opposition Facebook page “Political Absurdity” published a post claiming that France is adopting a “Russian-style” law to prevent foreign interference. On the same day, the Chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, Anri Okhanashvili, published a video, which stated that: The French legislative initiative considers countries like...

Paris, April 10 2024 The European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN), an association representing over 40 independent fact-checking organizations in 27 countries, condemns the direct attacks Georgian fact-checkers are receiving from their own government. Independent fact-checking is a public service and our Georgian members have a duty to fact-check government statements and inform the public when...

The IFCN supports press freedom for all fact-checkers, including FactCheck Georgia and Myth Detector The International Fact-Checking Network joins other press freedom organizations in expressing deep concerns over reintroduced legislation in Georgia’s parliament that would require civil society and media organizations to register as “organizations pursuing the interests of a foreign power” — effectively a synonym for...