Discrediting and Propaganda Messages

Messages against the "United National Movement", presenting the party as an organizer of sending volunteers to Ukraine to fight in exchange for money.

On December 5, the Prime Minister, Irakli Garibashvili, announced at the government meeting that the "United National Movement" is taking Georgian citizens to Ukraine in order to engage them in fight. Mamuka Mdinaradze, the leader of "Georgian Dream,” spread the same message and said that these people "go from village to village.” Mdinaradze also stated that "the only one in the civilized world who is promoting the participation of volunteers in the Ukrainian war is the Georgian opposition." Later, Garibashvili noted that his statement did not refer to all Georgians fighting in Ukraine. However, he paid attention to Mamuka Mamulashvili, the brother of Nona Mamulashvili, a former deputy of the "United National Movement" and currently one of the candidates for the chairmanship of the party, who is in charge of the "Georgian Legion" fighting in Ukraine. Pro-government experts and members of "People's Power" once again spread the message that the opposition asks the government to encourage Georgian volunteers to fight. Moreover, as they say, among the fighters in Ukraine, there are "propagandist Georgians" who seek their own benefits in the war. According to pro-government actors, associating Georgia with the ongoing war is the shortest way to the second front. TV company, "POSTV" prepared a story in which it was discussed how the "Georgian Legion", under the leadership of Mamuka Mamulashvili, offers Georgians to participate in military operations in Ukraine in exchange for money. Identical messages have also been spread on the anonymous Facebook pages operating against the opposition.

Political Absurd:

TV company PosTV conducted an experiment and contacted the group in Ukraine on the relevant phone numbers specified on the social network accounts. This group is headed by Mamuka Mamulashvili, the brother of the member of the National Movement, Nona Mamulashvili. During the correspondence, they confirmed to us that the so-called Legion really offers Georgians to participate in military operations in Ukraine, in exchange for money. They offered us a specific amount, 45,000 hryvnias per month, which, according to them, is more than 2,000 dollars.

Photo Headline: Georgians are paid more than 2,000 US dollars to participate in war in Ukraine

 

 

The messages against the government due to the statements made regarding the Georgian fighters killed in Ukraine

On the anonymous pages operating against the government, the ruling force was discredited because of the current position regarding the Georgian fighters who died in Ukraine.  At first, their silence was the subject of criticism, and later, the target was the statement made by the Prime Minister that the "war party" was leading fellow citizens to the battlefield.

Photo:

Association of like-minded people – Georgia; Poor in manhood and intelligence, Putin's son curses Georgians

Photo Headline: It has been organized by the war party. They are taking our fellow citizens to Ukraine.

 

Accusing Giuli Alasania of ordering articles about Mikheil Saakashvili's health condition for foreign lobbyists

Anti-opposition pages published information that Giuli Alasania had ordered articles about Saakashvili's health condition by hiring foreign lobbyists. The posts claim that hired foreign outlets, including Taiwanese ones, published identical articles regarding the torture and poisoning of Saakashvili in prison. Mamuka Mdinaradze, the leader of "Georgian Dream,” also spread a similar message.

  

Photo 1 -  Political Absurd: A few days ago, Gyuli Alasania hired a foreign lobbying company to launch a campaign in the international community. Alasania represented the organization as a legal aid provider. In reality, as a result of this lobbying company, the same kind of articles about the former president were published in 80 editions all together, using the same text and photo.

This is what happens - when your people in your country do not support you, you try to look for hope abroad

Photo Headline: Hired lobbyists spread the identical articles

Photo 2 - PostTV News:

"This is the first time that "Piarshiks" (lobbyists) were hired to a sick person" - Mamuka Mdinaradze regarding Mikheil Saakashvili's lobbyists

 

 

Fake support page against Mikheil Saakashvili

Mikheil Saakashvili's fake supporting page - "On October 2, Misha in Georgia•mishasakartveloshi" - is active on Facebook. On December 5, a mocking post of Mikheil Saakashvili's supporters was published on the page. The same post was published by the pages - "It's time for truth" and "Terenti Gldaneli" which are actively involved in discrediting the opposition. This fake supporter page, like other similar accounts, aims to confuse and mislead Facebook users by acting on behalf of the very person it is campaigning against^[1].

 

 

 

Photo: On October 2, Misha in Georgia•mishasakartveloshi" : In 2012, President Saakashvili visited our family. You know how it is in the village. There is no running water  and we let him  wash his hand in the near "Umivalnik". We hosted him, everything here and there... and when he left, we kept water used by him. Such a big man arrived and we needed to keep something as a souvenir. Soon we discovered that water used by Saakashvili turned out to have miraculous powers. If someone was suffering from something - migraine, prostate or heart failure, he/she was healed.  So, I have kept a small amount of this water until now. Good brothers and sisters, let this poor man go, this water is running out and that man is also suffering in prison.

 

Discrediting Goga Khaindrava based on the information written about him in the book of Jaba Ioseliani

A campaign against Goga Khaindrava was going on the pages operating against "Georgian Dream". Four pages published identical posts trying to discredit the movie director.  They underlined a specific fragment of the book of the leader of Mkhedrioni, Jaba Ioseliani.

 

 

Photo: Annual events: In 1991, the heroes of Samachablo - the Mindiashvili, were put sleeping pills in a glass in one of Tbilisi's restaurants. Then the Ossetians tied them to a tree and burnt them near Tskhinvali… Goga Khaindrava came, took pictures (how did the Ossetians allow it?) and sent them abroad, as if the Georgians burned the Ossetians alive. ...Jaba Yoseliani - three dimensions, p. 360.

 

About the weekly review

Within the social media monitoring program, ISFED presents the weekly overview and description of  messages that echo political issues, (more or less) virally circulates on social networks during the week, and involves more than one actor, account or page in its dissemination . In certain cases, the most interactive posts of the week are presented.

For data processing, the organization uses the Facebook monitoring tool Crowdtangle and relies on the existing updated database of pages/accounts involved in discrediting campaigns. 

The pages are available on the platform - www.disinfoobserver.ge

 

 

[1] DISCREDITING CAMPAIGN DISGUISED WITH SUPPORT ON FACEBOOK, ISFED, 2021
https://isfed.ge/eng/sotsialuri-mediis-monitoringi/mkhardacherit-shenighbuli-diskreditatsiis-kampania-feisbuqze