On March 23-24, 2023, the Facebook page “Political Graveyard N5” and several Facebook accounts (1,2,3,4) published a screenshot of the alleged Facebook post of journalist Vakho Sanaia, which was related to the visit of famous Georgian football player Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to the Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia. According to the post, Sanaia claims that despite going to Naples, Kvaratskhelia remains a “redneck” [interpretation], as immediately after his arrival, he headed to the “gang”, which is called the Patriarchate.
The disseminated quote is fabricated; Sanaia has not published a post with similar content. Vakho Sanaia himself denied the authenticity of the said statement.
The disseminated quote cannot be found either on Sanaia’s personal Facebook page or in other open sources. Notably, everyone who spreads information about Sanaia’s post relies on the same screenshot, which has exactly 102 reactions, six comments and four shares. All shared screenshots also indicate that the post was published 40 minutes ago.
Sanaia himself responded to the viral post on March 23 with a Facebook post. According to the journalist, after Kvaratskhelia wrote a correct post regarding “Russian law” and Sanaia read the post live, the activity of trolls and bots stopped. Then a fake post about the visit to the Patriarchate of Kvaratskhelia appeared, which has been circulating actively.
According to Sanaia, the dissemination of the fabricated post is part of a campaign launched against all those who did not support the law on “transparency of foreign influence.”
This is not the first time when journalists, activists or other well-known persons have been accused of making statements or actions against Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. For more information on the topic, see the articles prepared by “Myth Detector:”
- Information as if Makarashvili burned the T-shirt of Kvaratskhelia is Without Evidence (in Georgian)
- Fabricated Video Comment of Levan Berdzenishvili about Kvaratskhelia (in Georgian)
About the Sources
The Facebook page “Political Graveyard N5” supports the ruling “Georgian Dream” party and often publishes posts aimed at discrediting the media and the opposition. In October 2022, the page was involved in a campaign to discredit Mikheil Saakashvili, after video footage showing the condition of the former president in prison was released. In February 2023, the page also published an altered video of journalist Inga Grigolia reading the Facebook post of Lisa Yasko.
Facebook user Davit Tordia is also a supporter of “Georgian Dream” and the administrator of the page “Leader 41,” which frequently features posts supporting “Georgian Dream” and discrediting the opposition. “Myth Detector” has verified the false information spread by Tordia many times in the past. See more here:
- The Administrator of a Pro-Governmental Facebook Page Mocks the Civilian Exercises in Ukraine
- What is the Actual Net Worth of Zelenskyy, and is it Linked to His Political Career?
The Facebook account “Tata Nikoloz” often spreads disinformation claims of anti-Western and anti-opposition content. In September 2022, the user published a fake quote of Vakho Sanaia, in which Sanaia allegedly asked the United Nations for protection against the Italians, and in August 2020, the user published information that members of the then government had left Georgia during the August War.
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