Govt Stratcom rejects “misinformation campaign and deliberate misinterpretation” of PM’s statement by some “politically engaged media”

The Department of Strategic Communications of the Georgian Government on Monday rejected the “misinformation campaign and deliberate misinterpretation” by some “politically engaged media” of the statement by the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili made on Sunday in an interview with Imedi TV. 

The statement noted the “fake news” being spread by using “fake quotes” that Garibashvili had not said. 

The false information, which refers to the Prime Minister's statements regarding the young people who were participating in the rally [against the bill on the transparency of foreign influence], is spread particularly aggressively”, the statement said.

In a statement the Department cited what exactly the head of the Government had said in an interview: “Besides members of the destructive, anarchist movement, there were many full-hearted schoolchildren and students. And they were not aggressive; they stood there peacefully, just supporting the European idea”. 

The Prime Minister also noted that it was unacceptable for young people to be involved in destructive processes. The Prime Minister also spoke at length about the specific steps and results taken by the Government on its path of European integration, as well as the importance of receiving EU membership candidate status. Nevertheless, politically engaged groups try to mislead the public through fake news”, the statement noted.