On October 22, 2022, “Ar Agarevinebt,” a pro-government Facebook page that frequently publishes content aimed at discrediting the opposition, published a video where the words of TV Pirveli journalist Inga Grigolia, “My beloved man, Mikheil Saakashvili, is a political prisoner” are followed by footage of ex-President Saakashvili behind bars at the trial, with a voice covering “I want a woman, do you understand?” The video is accompanied by the caption, “Who is Inga’s beloved man?!” The Facebook page “Political Graveyard N5” published a similar video where Inga Grigolia says the same words. In the subsequent frames of the video, Inga Grigolia is depicted against the background of music and animated hearts.
The disseminated video is altered. In fact, in the original version, Inga Grigolia quotes the words of Saakashvili’s partner Lisa Yasko, MP of the Rada of Ukraine. The full recording of the program shows that the journalist is reading Yasko’s Facebook post. By altering the content, the video aims at creating the impression that the journalist called the ex-president “my beloved man”, which along with the video manipulation, considering the accompanying audio montage, is also a manifestation of slut-shaming.
The fragment where Inga Grigolia refers to Mikheil Saakashvili as “her beloved man” is cut from the October 4, 2022, broadcast of the program “Reaction”. The full version of the program makes it clear that Inga Grigolia quotes the words of Ukrainian Rada MP Lisa Yasko:
Inga Grigolia, Journalist: “One year has passed since my beloved man, Mikheil Saakashvili, is a political prisoner in Georgia. If I had known back then how many traitors were around him, I would not have supported his decision to return to Georgia,” – these are the words of Lisa Yasko.”
Lisa Yasko was the first guest on the October 4 program “Reaction” on TV Pirveli. Before Yasko joined the program live, the host read Yasko’s October 1st Facebook post.
In her post, Yasko summarized the past year after the arrest of Mikheil Saakashvili in Georgia.
As a result of the montage, the words of Saakashvili’s partner (“My dear man Mikheil Saakashvili is a political prisoner”) to the journalist and the accompanying audio montage (“I want a woman, understand”) are examples of sexist hate speech towards Inga Grigolia, in particular, slatshaming.
Ascribing the words of Saakashvili’s partner (“My beloved man Mikheil Saakashvili is a political prisoner”) to the TV Pirveli journalist and the accompanying audio montage (“I want a woman, do you understand?”) is an example of sexist hate speech towards Inga Grigolia, in particular, slut-shaming.
| Slut-shaming is a form of attack based on moral criteria in the category of sexist hate speech, which aims to shame targets. Slut-shaming is primarily used to chastise targets for not conforming to gender norms and stereotyped expectations of behaviour, appearance or clothing. |
The Facebook page “Ar Agarevinebt” has disseminated disinformation and video manipulations in the past as well. For more details, see the articles prepared by “Myth Detector:”
- Ar Agarevinebt Disseminates a Fabricated Video of Japaridze (In Georgian)
- Sponsored Posts and Pro-Governmental Actors Against the Members of the European Parliament
- Pro-Governmental Trolls, Anonymous and Anti-Liberal FB Pages against Nika Gvaramia
- The Ukrainian Front of Georgian Pro-Governmental Trolls
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