On November 6, Facebook user Tamar Ujmajuridze shared a screenshot involving alleged quotes by MP Salome Samadashvili of the opposition United National Movement. The post quotes Samadashvili as saying: “Patriarch Ilia II and the Church are the biggest problems in our country. Until people trust the church, which is full of bandits, we will stay in the swamp. The National Movement will curb the Church as soon as [Grigol] Vashadze wins the elections.” The post, which does not refer to any source and says nothing about when and where Samadashvili made these remarks, has 280 shares, 59 reactions and 85 comments, as of November 7. The post has also been shared by Facebook page Fატები, which has spread disinformation about opposition protest at different times.
The spread post is a fabrication, because the opposition MP has never made such remarks. Identical disinformation was also spread against Samadashvili by the government-affiliated anti-opposition pages back in 2018 and 2019. The post aims at portraying the opposition party as a fighter against the Georgian Orthodox Church. In a separate development, a pro-government media outlet spread a covert audio recording featuring Salome Samadashvili ahead of the November 8 opposition rally.
No such remarks allegedly made by Salome Samadashvili can be searched through open sources. In the interview with Myth Detector, Samadashvili denied making such comments. Other fake posts with identical content spread in 2018 and 2019 by the government-affiliated, anti-opposition Facebook pages, namely ტერენტი გლდანელი and დედაქალაქი are still available online.
The spread of Salome Samadashvili’s fake quotes aims at portraying the opposition party as a fighter against the Georgian Orthodox Church.
fake quotes were spread shortly after pro-government Imedi TV aired a covertly recorded audio tape featuring Samadashvili. Imedi TV referred to Ukrainian website Obozrevatel as its source. During the conversation, Samadashvili shares her critical position on internal party issues with an interlocutor.
