Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that during the March 8 protest, it was led by two Ukrainians who were “trained by the Americans” and participated in “color revolutions” in other countries. The authors of the reports add that “Ukrainian protesters” used Molotov cocktails. As evidence, the authors of the messages add a video fragment of the protest, recorded by one of the Georgian channels. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the MythDetector project got down to the case and found that Ukrainians were not depicted in the footage. As the fact-checkers explain, the video shows Georgian volunteers of the Center for Extreme Medicine providing medical assistance to the victims during the action. This video was also posted on the Center for Extreme Medicine Facebook page. The video shows people in the same clothes, they wash the eyes of the victim with a saline solution, which the authors of the messages call a Molotov cocktail.

Analysts also turned to volunteers, who confirmed that the footage depicts Georgian volunteers, and not “Ukrainian protesters trained by the Americans”.

The public of Georgia actively opposes the adoption in the first reading of the law “On the transparency of foreign influence”, called the “Russian law”. It is considered an analogue of the notorious ban on “foreign agents” in Russia, which actually suppressed the already weak voices of the opposition and made it impossible for international monitoring missions to be present inside the country. The law, adopted by the Georgian Parliament on March 7, 2023, provides for the creation of a register of “agents of foreign influence”. The authorities will create a special open database of organizations and individuals if the share of foreign investments in their activities is at least 20%. It is noteworthy that the voting continued in violation of the rules of parliament and without public discussion.

We recall that Detector Media analyzed messages aimed at discrediting the protest movement in Georgia.