On November 20, an account known for frequently spreading disinformation, “Irma Khakhutaishvili,” shared an information card of the pro-government TV channel POSTV, which reads: “The EU Ambassador to Georgia, Pawel Herczynski, strongly condemns the attacks on journalists by the protesters.” In the description of the post, the account writes: “Aha, they have noticed; they will have to notice a lot more.” Some users interpret this as the Ambassador condemning the violence against journalists by the participants of the ongoing protest.
Misleading information has been spread based on the POSTV’s information card. The quote featured on it does not belong to Herczynski. In its Facebook post, POSTV states that the Ambassador would have made such a statement if the victim of violence by the demonstrators had been a journalist from “Mtavari Channel” instead of “Imedi.” However, the use of the information card without this clarification gives the impression to the readers that Herczynski indeed made this statement.
The information card, which some Facebook users perceive as Pawel Herczynski’s actual quote, was published on POSTV’s Facebook page on November 19. In addition to the EU Ambassador’s quote, this pro-government media outlet also disseminated an identical statement from the U.S. Ambassador, Robin Dunnigan. In the description of both posts, the TV station points out that the information presented in them is not real and writes, “This is what the news would have been if it had been “Mtavari Channel” instead of “Imedi TV!” The information card, featuring the quote falsely attributed to the U.S. Ambassador, was sponsored by POSTV for 11 hours.
It is worth noting that a quote attributed to Ambassador Pawel Herczynski condemning violence against journalists by participants in the protest has not been published in reputable media (1, 2, 3), on the embassy’s websites, or on its social media pages. In contrast, on November 20, the European Union Delegation posted on social media: “In Georgia, young people are fighting for their rights, freedom, and the European future of their country. We stand firmly by their side and emphasize the importance of respecting their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and assembly.”
Protests have been held in Tbilisi against the results of the October 26 parliamentary elections. Amid the protests, the pro-government TV channel “Imedi” reported that demonstrators verbally and physically insulted their camera crew and interfered in their professional work. On November 19, “Imedi” released a statement saying that they had applied to a special investigative service with a request to respond to the interference in the work of their crew and physical abuse. Later, they also announced the decision to withdraw their camera crews from the protest for safety reasons. In addition, on November 19, several independent online media outlets issued a joint statement referring to cases of interference in the professional activities of journalists and cameramen during the protest on the same day.
The TV channel POSTV itself frequently spreads false information. This month, they have disseminated incorrect information and manipulative photo-video content related to the protests and political processes. The Myth Detector monitors media and systematically investigates their posts.
About the source:
Irma Khakhutaishvili is a supporter of the Georgian Dream. She regularly posts anti-Western content, as well as reports and fake news against the Georgian political opposition on social media. The Myth Detector has repeatedly fact-checked posts published by her in the past and established that this account was also involved in discrediting campaigns against former Public Defender Nino Lomjaria and the leader of the political party Lelo, Mamuka Khazaradze.
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