On November 4, a Facebook page „ვაი ბიძიკო“ (Vai bidziko) published a video titled “How Saakashvili Refers to the Georgian Nation”. In the first part of the video, a footage with TV Pirveli logo shows Saakashvili saying: “Forget Saakashvili’s name and surname… You are all cruel, non-Georgians, non-humans.”. In the next footage, the former President of Georgia speaks in Russian under informal circumstances. The footage comes with Georgian subtitles: “First, unlike Georgians, I cannot sing or dance, or, especially, say a toast. Therefore, I have decided to become a Ukrainian.” The third part of the video shows people applauding – a frame often used in memes and gifs in a sarcastic context.
The video shared by “Vai bidziko” is manipulative, as Saakashvili’s phrase is used out of its context. In fact, the former President of Georgia used the epithets “nobody, non-Georgians, non-humans” to the population of Ivanishvili regime, not to all Georgians. The Facebook page was created on the day of the election and aims to discredit the United National Movement.
Saakashvili used the epithets “nobody, non-Georgians, non-humans” to describe the population of Ivanishvili regime, not all Georgians.
The first part of the video published by “Vai bidziko” uses a footage from „პირველი ხაზი“ (First line), a program on TV Pirveli, which aired on November 3 and saw Mikheil Saakashvili join. He noted that the main opponent of his comeback to Georgia is “Ivanishvili’s criminal regime” that tells the Georgian people that “they are nobody, non-Georgians, non-humans”. The doctored version of the video, published by “Vai bidziko”, omits specifically the moment when Saakashvili explains that it is Ivanishvili who refers to the Georgian people like that. Therefore, the doctored video creates a perception that the former President of Georgia calls the Georgian people “nobody, non-Georgians, and non-humans”.
| Version by Vai bidziko | Version aired on TV Pirveli |
| Mikheil Saakashvili: “Forget Saakashvili’s name and surname… You are nobody, non-Georgians, non-humans.” | Mikheil Saakashvili: “… as for the fact that my name came up – forget Saakashvili’s name and surname, why does somebody’s attitude towards me matter?! I cannot enter my country not because of some oppositional politician, but because of Ivanishvili’s criminal regime that destroys our country, our common country. He practically destroyed it, he deprived us of the last means and made it clear that you are nobody, you are non-Georgians, non-humans, that you do not deserve anything and that he stole 20% of your votes.” |
Dissemination on social media
The video published by “Vai bidziko” had up to 400 shares as of November 5. A Facebook user Salome Samushia shared the given post in the following groups: „1.000.000 ქართველი“ (One million Georgians), „პოზიტივი“ (Positive), „საქართველო“ (Georgia). It is noteworthy that this user has been sharing posts by members of the Georgian Dream, including the Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, Giorgi Songhulashvili, as well as the official pages of the Georgian Dream. The video has also been shared in Facebook groups with openly pro-Georgian-Dream agenda. Another Facebook user Nika Sanikidze shared the video by “Vai bidziko” in the following groups: „პრემიერ-მინისტრი გიორგი გახარია“ (Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia), „ბიძინა ივანიშვილის მეგობრები ‘ფეისბუქზე’ ოცნების მხარდამჭერები“ (Friends of Bidzina Ivanishvili on Facebook, supporters of Georgian Dream).
About the page
The Facebook page “Vai bidziko” was created on October 31, 2020 during the 2020 Parliamentary Elections in Georgia. As of today, it has 650 likes and nearly the same number of followers. “Page transparency” section shows that the page has sponsored several posts about Mikheil Saakashvili. The page, which was created several days ago, mainly shares posts, photos, and videos that aim to discredit the United National Movement and Mikheil Saakashvili.
Link to the archive: https://archive.ph/eRtl7
The material uses data by CrowdTangle, a Facebook search tool
