On December 8, the Facebook page publicist.ge, as well as the news portal “Georgia First“, published information about the meeting held by the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, with congressmen. According to information, Austin threatened American lawmakers with sending their family members to war if they refused to support Ukraine. “Their relatives will be sent to fight against the Russians if they do not support Ukraine” – writes publicist.ge.
Publicist.ge and “Georgia First” rely on the former Fox News host, Tucker Carlson, who posted a similar message on X (former Twitter). Carlson’s quote was also covered by the Russian propaganda media, Russia Today.
The same information was published by Russian-language Facebook accounts (1, 2, 3) and Russian (including Комсомольская правда) and Belarusian media outlets.
The disseminated claim that the US Secretary of Defense threatened congressmen to take their family members to war if they refused to help Ukraine is manipulative and misinterpreted. In a closed-door meeting in Congress, according to the congressmen themselves, Lloyd Austin warned them that if the United States fails to find additional aid for Ukraine, Russia’s future target could be a NATO ally, forcing the United States to engage in military operations to defend Europe.
The Secretary of Defense had a meeting with the Congress last Tuesday. The main topic of the meeting was the approval of a new aid package for Ukraine against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war. The Messenger writes about the details of the meeting based on the statements of the congressmen. According to Michael McCaul, Republican Congressman, and the Foreign Affairs Chairman, Lloyd Austin noted that “If [Vladimir] Putin takes over Ukraine, he’ll get Moldova, Georgia, then maybe the Baltics.” According to Austin, in case of such a development of events, there is a high probability that the United States of America will have the need to deploy American soldiers on the territory of Europe, which is what the US is trying to avoid.
Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin also responded to Tucker Carlson’s accusations against Lloyd Austin. “This characterization of Austin’s remarks is 100 percent not true, acc to two sources who were in the briefings. Austin warned that it is not hyperbole to say Putin won’t stop at Ukraine. If he enters NATO territory US troops could be called to fight; cheaper to fund Ukraine now.” – Griffin wrote.
About the Source:
The page publicist.ge was created on November 11, 2020, by Irakli Jankarashvili, a supporter of the “Patriots Alliance” party. The page was initially called “Politico,” then changed to “Irakli Jankarashvili.” Currently, the page regularly publishes anti-Western content and tries to discredit the opposition. As for the website of the same name, it was created by Irakli Jankarashvili at the beginning of June 2023. In a statement published on June 15, Jankarashvili confirms that the site was created by him and calls on readers to support the platform financially.
Georgia First NEWS is the Facebook page of the portal “Georgia First,” which was founded by the former member of the “Georgian Dream” party, Vato Shakarishvili. The portal often publishes anti-Western content aimed at criticizing EU institutions, NATO, and the US presidential administration. The portal has disseminated false and manipulative claims in the past as well.
Archive links (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 )
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