A network of websites is spreading AI-generated clickbait in many languages. It looks like harmless entertainment but often includes unverified health tips and misleading content. Linked to domains in Russia and admins in Armenia, this network uses AI and anonymity to quietly misinform people across countries. As part of our investigation into inauthentic networks in…
Even though the pandemic is over, coordinated networks of Facebook pages and websites continue to exploit people’s health fears to drive traffic and generate revenue. Modern digital platforms enable groups to build networks of websites and Facebook pages that look independent but work together. These networks may have various goals – from political influence to…
On November 20, 2020, a video appeared on the Georgian TikTok and Facebook, claiming that Italians had stormed a mall and, in this way, protested the demand for green passports. One of the sources of the video is a Georgian user, who published the video with hashtags #nocovidfascism #nogreenpassports #nocovidpassports #nodiscriminationagainstnon-vaccinated #nocovidterror #nogreenpass. A video posted…
The village where I grew up is small, everyone here knows everything about each other, and news spreads quickly: “Naira’s daughter married a city boy” “Nika went to America to study”, “Marina’s cow is pregnant.” But people care about politics and foreign relations, too. In the past, those who came from the fields used to sit in…
“It was Easter. On the day of Commemoration of the dead, I went to the cemetery like everyone else. However, unlike others I was holding a lit candle in one hand and sharing posts on my cell phone with the other.” The dissemination of false news is no longer a foreign topic. We all know…
The “online” lecture was supposed to start in 5 minutes, when I accidentally checked news and heard that 4800 cases were reported in the country. I was surprised to enter the lecture while a friend sent me a message on the phone: ‘’Do we have fun somewhere today? I imagined where we could have gone,…
Coronavirus pandemic has been followed by a mass infodemic with several interest groups standing behind it. One of the directions of the infodemic includes false treatments, fake recommendations, and unverified protection methods. In Georgia, even doctors often become the source of such fake information, hazardous to human health. Fake news titled “Everything Will End Fatally:…
I had five missed calls and several unread messages from my mom reading – “Jano, if you love me, please don’t go to the movie premiere”. I received the messages on November 8th, 2019. She was asking me not to go to see “And then we danced”, a movie directed by Levan Akin about youngsters …
People have long stopped using landlines, but mine still rings sometimes. We all know who it is—my grandmother. She’s active and curious. Like Tom Sawyer’s Aunt Polly, she enthusiastically collects notes from health magazines and newspapers, and keeps them well organized and guarded. Mostly, it’s on topics like “ how to protect ourselves from not…
Coronavirus pandemic has been accompanied with a dissemination of fake news and conspiracy theories. Georgia was no exception, as various groups, including pro-Kremlin, ultra-national, and radical groups have been referring to COVID-19 as an artificially created virus, spreading fear, and associating the virus with the 5G Internet. One of the authors of the disinformation and…