On July 27 and 28, 2023, lawyer Irakli Zakareishvili and anonymous Facebook account Ragnar Lotbneli published a photo of Giuli Asalania wearing a pink Alasania dress with the number 69 and human figures depicting the sex pose of the same name. The photo was also distributed in the group Suren Saakian.
The photo disseminated on Facebook is fabricated and aims to discredit Giuli Alasania. The original photo was taken in February 2021 and shows Brazilian journalist Mercês Parente wearing the dress to celebrate her 69th birthday.
The disseminated photo is altered. Instead of the mother of the third president of Georgia, the original version of the photo, which was taken in February 2021, depicts the Brazilian journalist Mercês Parente.
The journalist wore the dress shown in the photo while receiving the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine at the vaccination center. According to the journalist, she wanted to arrange something special for her 69th birthday, and her relative came up with the idea of creating the dress. Since it was impossible to organize a birthday party due to the coronavirus pandemic, Parente decided to wear the dress at the vaccination center. According to the journalist, the government’s announcement about vaccination was for people aged 69 to 71, so everyone in the center understood the joke.
On February 2, 2021, Mercês Parente also published a post with several more photos of herself wearing the dress.
Hence, the circulated photo has nothing to do with Giuli Alasania, and its purpose is to discredit the mother of the former president. “Myth Detector” has verified disinformation about Alasania many times in the past; for more details, see:
- Comment of Ex-President’s Mother Disseminated without Context
- Did Saakashvili’s mother Compare the Third President to Alexander the Great?
- Altered Photo of Giuli Alasania and Giorgi Chaladze Disseminated on Social Media (in Georgian)
About the Sources
Lawyer Irakli Zakareishvili regularly publishes posts with anti-Western, anti-Ukrainian, and anti-opposition content. The disinformation spread by the user has been debunked by “Myth Detector” a number of times in the past.
The anonymous account Ragnar Lotbneli has published altered photos in the past as well. In October 2022, the user published a fake cover photo of ELLE magazine.
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