On December 18, 2023, the Facebook page [Shiin Evropisken] “Home to Europe” published a photo of the members of the “Lelo Georgia” party – Grigol Gegelia, Badri Japaridze, Mamuka Khazaradze and Salome Samadashvili, holding the LGBTQI+ flag. “The coolest party, a real Drag Queen party” – writes the author.
The author of the post disseminated a photofabrication. In fact, instead of the LGBTQI+ flag, the members of the party are holding the flag of Georgia.
The photo, which the author of the post distributes in an altered form, was taken in February 2023, in the building of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. In the photo published by Salome Samadashvili on February 24, it can be seen that the members of the party are not holding the LGBTQ+ flag, but the flag of Georgia.
In connection with the one-year mark of the Russia-Ukraine war, the members of the “Lelo for Georgia” party went to Ukraine on February 21, 2023. The politicians met with representatives of the Ukrainian government, and on February 24 they attended the extraordinary session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
About the Source
The Facebook account “Shiin Evropisken” [Home to Europe], together with several other Facebook accounts of the same name (1, 2, 3), distributes information of homophobic and anti-Western content in a coordinated manner, including false claims and fake photo-video materials. The page was created as a counterbalance to the civil campaign “Home to Europe” initiated by non-governmental organizations, which aims to support Georgia’s integration into the European Union.
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