On June 25, an anonymous Georgian-language Facebook account published a photo and an alleged quote of Budu Zivzivadze, a player of the Georgian national team. According to the quote, Zivzivadze received an offer from the “United National Movement” to be included in the party list, and if the injustice against him continues, he will move to the “bright side of history”. The logo of “Imedi” TV is attached to the published photo. According to another social media card published by the same account, Zivzivadze states that he is not going to accept the award set by Bidzina Ivanishvili, as long as the Russian law is in place in the country.
The quotes disseminated on social media are fabricated. The information that Budu Zivzivadze received an offer to join the party list for the “United National Movement” is false. Zivzivadze did not comment on the award set by Ivanishvili either. The information of such content was not disclosed to the TV company “Imedi” or other media outlet
On June 25, the TV company “Imedi” published two social media cards (1,2) with the image of the players of the Georgian national team. The card, which shows Budu Zivzivadze, refers to the prediction made by the football player about the Georgia-Portugal match. Zivzivadze says that in case of victory, the national team will pass the group stage, which is a great achievement and the players are ready for that.
Most likely, the Facebook user fabricated this very card and changed Budu Zivzivadze’s quote: “If we win, we will pass the group stage, which will be a great achievement for Georgian football, the players are ready for that.” Budu Zivzivadze did not make a statement even after Bidzina Ivanishvili set a monetary reward for the win. Most likely, the anonymous user fabricated a card published by Imedi TV in April 2024, in which Zivzivadze talks about inviting fans to his home in Germany.
Following the crackdown of the rallies held against the draft law on the transparency of foreign influence, Zizivadze said that the attack on the peaceful demonstrations could not be justified in any way, and as a citizen of Georgia, he considered himself obliged to say again: “No to Russia and no to everything that pushes Georgia towards Russia. Georgia’s way is to Europe”. Zivzivadze repeated the same in the “Japaridze podcast” at the beginning of June. A certain part of Facebook users believed that Zivzivadze was being “punished” for the statements he made. In response, the head coach of the Georgian football team, Willy Sagnol, at the press conference held before the match of the last round of the group stage of Euro 2024 against the national team of Portugal, noted that he is far from politics and makes decisions based on football facts.
Amid the 2024 European Championship, “Myth Detector” verified a number of posts with misleading and false content. Most of them concerned the players of the Georgian national team.
For more information about the topic, see the “Myth Detector” article:
About the Source
The disinformation spread by the Facebook user “Tite Natutari” has been verified by “Myth Detector” in the past. Tite Natutari portrays Budu Zivzivadze as a supporter of the “United National Movement” and spreads posts undermining him (1,2).
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