Grigol Gegelia’s Fabricated Statement is being Circulated Through Georgian Facebook
Verdict: FactCheck concludes that this information is a fake news
A Facebook page “The Money-lender League” has posted a picture of Grigol Gegelia, Rustavi city majoritarian candidate from the political party Lelo, with the text inside the photo saying: The Georgian people will have to get used to the same-sex marriages, Lelo will be a defender of the rights of the sexual minorities." The Money-lender League photo is accompanied with the title: The voice of the gay money-lenders in the parliament.
The information provided in the post, as if the afore mentioned quote about the sexual minorities belongs to Grigol Gegelia is false. Grigol Gegelia has not made such statement neither in the social network, nor in any media.
It should be noted, that back in 2019, Grigol Gegelia did spoke about sexual minorities on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia with TV Pirveli channel, saying: "I do not support any pride parade on May 17, I think it causes disgust and controversy [in the society]." At the same time, he underscored that there are far more problems in the country than homophobic attitudes towards specific sexual minorities.
Noteworthy, that Mamuka Khazaradze, the founder of the Lelo party, does not consider same-sex marriage reasonable. According to his previously made statement, it is true that the rights of the sexual minorities are violated, but this does not give them an excuse to impose their wishes on the majority, noting that this issue is well covered by the constitution and the society should obey it.
As for the page responsible for spreading the disinformation, it was created on October 29, 2020.
The page is known for its smear campaign against the Lelo party, which is evidenced by the name of the page – The Money-lender League – as well as by the posts uploaded and shared on it. The same Facebook page also publishes posts of anti-opposition character against different parties.
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