She has heard all of this before
Georgia has a well-earned reputation for engaging in hyperbolic rhetoric. Both the government and the opposition routinely accuse each other of acts of “treason” and of being “psychologically sick people.” Even the EU’s anodyne fact-finding report on the August War highlighted the country’s penchant for “over-playing its hand and acting in the heat of the moment without careful consideration.”
A fake news report that aired on Georgian television two weeks ago only confirms this characterization. The broadcast falsely alleged that Russia had invaded Georgia and that the president had been killed. It went on to show images of Russian jets supposedly on their way to bomb Georgian cities and President Obama announcing sanctions against Russia. Throughout the half-hour show, the Imedi network only ran the disclaimer that it was “an imitation of possible events” twice.
On the streets of Tbilisi and other cities, the population went into panic. Some residents rushed to stores to buy bread and water or take out cash from the ATM. Others jumped into their cars and joined the massive traffic jam of frightened people fleeing the city. The chaos lasted for almost three hours, as cell phone services became overwhelmed with calls and rumors circled of escalating bloodshed. For Georgians still recovering from the real invasion in August 2008, it seemed that their worst fears had been realized.
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A fake news report that aired on Georgian television two weeks ago only confirms this characterization. The broadcast falsely alleged that Russia had invaded Georgia and that the president had been killed. It went on to show images of Russian jets supposedly on their way to bomb Georgian cities and President Obama announcing sanctions against Russia. Throughout the half-hour show, the Imedi network only ran the disclaimer that it was “an imitation of possible events” twice.
On the streets of Tbilisi and other cities, the population went into panic. Some residents rushed to stores to buy bread and water or take out cash from the ATM. Others jumped into their cars and joined the massive traffic jam of frightened people fleeing the city. The chaos lasted for almost three hours, as cell phone services became overwhelmed with calls and rumors circled of escalating bloodshed. For Georgians still recovering from the real invasion in August 2008, it seemed that their worst fears had been realized.
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President Saakshivili’s response was typically idiotic. After a perfunctory condemnation of the program, he reflexively started to blame Russia. “The most unpleasant thing,” he argued, “is that the report is extremely close to what can really happen and to what Georgia's enemy has conceived." Despite the fact that his own grandmother saw the show and was “worried and nervous” for his safety, he did not call for anyone to be fired or for the company to be censured.
His reluctance to distance himself from report has fueled controversy. The opposition movement accused the government of orchestrating the events to undercut its overtures towards Russia. These suspicions were heightened by the fact that channel’s deputy director, Georgy Arveladze, is a former head of the presidential administration and a staunch ally of Saakashvili.
Either way, the hoax is another blow to Georgia’s international credibility. A regime that George W. Bush once described as “a beacon of liberty” has become an erratic laughingstock. If Saakashvili does not change his tone, he will find his nation more and more isolated.
When the wolf comes, no one will heed his cries for help.
- Joe Pinilla
His reluctance to distance himself from report has fueled controversy. The opposition movement accused the government of orchestrating the events to undercut its overtures towards Russia. These suspicions were heightened by the fact that channel’s deputy director, Georgy Arveladze, is a former head of the presidential administration and a staunch ally of Saakashvili.
Either way, the hoax is another blow to Georgia’s international credibility. A regime that George W. Bush once described as “a beacon of liberty” has become an erratic laughingstock. If Saakashvili does not change his tone, he will find his nation more and more isolated.
When the wolf comes, no one will heed his cries for help.
- Joe Pinilla
