This report aims to inform readers about certain TikTok accounts that have the intention of manipulating public opinion.

TikTok, created in 2016, counts over 1,677 billion users worldwide. The platform stands as the sixth largest social media application with over 1.2 billion active users per month.

Source: statista.com

The application amassed a particularly high popularity during the 2020 pandemic, serving as a source of entertainment. However, due to an increase in its user base, TikTok has attracted attention from various media outlets, political groups and other influential accounts (so-called influencers), transforming it into an important platform for both disseminating and acquiring information which has been a common trend observed in other social media applications. A 2023 report by the Reuters Institute, whilst investigating the data of 46 markets across six continents, revealed that TikTok reaches 44% of the 18-24 age group, 20% of which utilises TikTok as a source of news.

TikTok was created in 2016 by the Chinese company ByteDance. In 2023, lawmakers in the United States, Europe and Canada escalated efforts to restrict access from government devices to TikTok following their increasing security concerns regarding the questionable handling of sensitive user data.

TikTok has emerged as a venue for spreading disinformation in addition to the aforementioned security concerns. According to a collaborative experimental study of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering and Global Witness, TikTok approved 90% of the reviewed disinformation content regarding the 2022 United States elections. Despite the platform banning political advertisements, it nonetheless greenlit those that propagated disinformation regarding the elections, such as inaccurate dates, the promotion of double-voting, etc., within the experiment.

The exact number of Georgian TikTok users remains unknown, although public opinion surveys named the platform alongside Facebook, YouTube and Instagram as one of the most frequently used applications.

Source: Zinc Network, 8 May 2023

The ISFED 2022 report highlighted the emergence of malicious TikTok accounts and their involvement in information manipulation campaigns during the 2021 local self-government elections. Whilst TikTok accounts with these objectives first surfaced in 2020, their activities escalated significantly in 2021 according to ISFED.

An escalating number of TikTok accounts have been uploading disinformation, discreditable or otherwise harmful content on the platform, intending to raise favourable political sentiments among their viewers. This report aims to inform the public about the challenging informational trends on TikTok and shed light on channels attempting to manipulate public opinion. The analysis also holds significance for civil society organisations, media, academia, political parties, international organisations and diplomatic representatives engaged in combating disinformation and working towards increasing societal resilience in Georgia.

Methodology

An initial monitoring list was used by FactCheck Georgia to compile the list of the TikTok accounts involved in spreading manipulated content and disinformation during this research. Following a procedure similar to the “snowball effect,” analysts utilised various manual monitoring methods such as searching using hashtags and searching TikTok channels similar to pre-existing Facebook pages.

Beside serving as a basis for this report, the list serves as a useful foundation for further research. Its publication aims to increase the interest among other researchers and simplify their workload. However, the list may fall short regarding the entire spectrum of TikTok channels disseminating propaganda and disinformation as it was collected manually rather than using an automatized monitoring tool. It is essential to note that creating new propaganda accounts on TikTok is relatively simple, thus they may have emerged post-creation of the aforementioned list. This report accounts for the monitoring conducted in the September-November period in 2023.

The following procedures were carried out based on the list: 1) desk research to gather open-source information, 2) categorising the monitored channels and 3) incorporating quantitative data accounting in addition to qualitative data for the maximum total number of views amassed by the monitored sources.

Primary Findings

• TikTok is actively utilised to disseminate anti-Western and pro-Russian propaganda and disinformation in Georgia. This report showcases five primary categories of sources that spread information manipulations: groups affiliated with Alt-Info, other pro-Russian groups, channels propagating against the opposition, channels propagating against the government, and conspiracy theorists.
• Pages that were previously removed by Facebook for coordinated inauthentic behaviour or violations of other community standards freely exist on TikTok.
• Pages that used to engage in coordinated inauthentic behaviour on Facebook, share materials that are similar in visual form and content on TikTok.
• Pro-Russian groups mainly publicise Alt-Info materials.
• Coordinated behaviour is not observed among anti-government channels unlike groups discrediting the opposition.

Category 1: Channels Supporting Alt-Info

Alt-Info, officially registered as Alt-Info Ltd. on 28 January 2019 and as NNLE Alternative for Georgia on 30 January 2019, is an openly anti-Western and pro-Russian organisation. It has been active in the online sphere since 2017, initially distributing materials using a website (see FactCheck articles on the disinformation published on this website: 1, 2, 3).

Later, Alt-Info expanded its presence to broadcasting on social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube. Facebook blocked pages that were affiliated with Alt-Info on the platform due to coordinated inauthentic behaviour leading to a prohibition of content distribution on Meta platforms in October 2020. However, new pages continue to emerge, distributing the materials on Facebook to this day. For example, they exist on Facebook as Alt-Info ალტ-ინფო currently at the time of this report. Additionally, Alt-Info received a TV broadcast license in September 2021. They have started to actively utilise other social media platforms, including Telegram and VK, following the restrictions by Meta.

Alt-Info currently operates as a political party as well. The Conservative Movement political party was established on 20 November 2021 which was then renamed the Conservative Party/Alt-Info in April 2022. The party’s communication channels are not only used to disseminate pro-Russian and anti-Western disinformation but also to organise violent protests (see 1, 2, 3, 4).

The Conservative Party leaders announced the creation of the Anti-Maidan Movement on 25 September 2023. According to their statement, the movement aims to mobilise the Georgian population to prevent Georgia from “sharing a fate similar to Ukraine.” Prior to the movement’s formation, the State Security Service had announced that certain groups were planning a scenario similar to Euromaidan with the objective of destabilising the country.

Alt-Info is actively putting out content on TikTok and utilising multiple accounts, including Altinfo2, alt_info.konservatori and Altinfo to promote their narratives and broadcasts. These TikTok accounts distribute clips from Alt-Info TV shows to instil fear into the population with the narratives such as the “second front” conspiracies and promoting the involvement in the Anti-Maidan movement.

The aforementioned pages emphasise the importance of aligning with Russia within their anti-Western and pro-Russian narratives. The pages also diligently put out anti-Ukraine videos (see 1, 2, 3). For instance, a video featuring an Alt-Info broadcast includes a comment reading: “The poorest in this war is a Ukrainian soldier who must fight for the transgender civilisation.”

In addition to the channels using the Alt-Info title, specific users play an active role in redistributing Alt-Info materials. For example, the user teojavelidze7 publishes Alt-Info broadcasts and promotional Anti-Maidan content on TikTok and Facebook. Moreover, this account is also engaged in campaigns discrediting civil activists and journalists.

Zurab Zukakishvili, an active supporter of Alt-Info, prominently produces content on TikTok and Facebook such as the dissemination of homophobia and hate speech during the 2023 Tbilisi Pride festival. For example, in one TikTok video responding to the 8 July protests, he states: “Liberasts, weren’t we telling you that we would come and steal your Europe? Didn’t we do so now? If you p######## can’t hold your festival, what else do you want in Europe? You have lost Europe, we Georgians won.” This account also propagates against the West (see 1, 2, 3). Refer to the screenshot below from one of the videos:

Additionally, the account actively encourages joining the Anti-maidan movement.

Another openly pro-Russian channel, arsen_popkhadze, owned by Arsen Popkhadze, a member of the Conservative Movement, is also affiliated with Alt-Info. He serves as the Tkibuli office leader of the Conservative Party and is one of the administrators of the Facebook channel World Politics also operating on Telegram with the same name. The page primarily uploads pro-Russian videos (see 1, 2, 3). For instance, the channel shared an interview of Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, discussing Georgia. In the video, accumulating over 266 thousand “views,” the Minister accuses NATO for its faults in the 2008 war.

The aforementioned channel predominantly showcases Alt-Info materials, including narratives related to Anti-Maidan and the events of 8 July, 2023.

For example, the page actively encouraged people to join the movement against Tbilisi Pride prior to the event on 8 July 2023.

Furthermore, the following pages repost similar or usually even identical videos without altering the contents or visualisations: globussi, otozukaka, konservatori, user95437412.

Additionally, refer to the table below which indicates the view count of the most popular videos uploaded by some Alt-Info-affiliated pages (data as of 20 October 2023):

TikTok account View count

Category 2: Other Openly Pro-Russian Channels

This category aims to investigate other channels beyond Alt-Info that share similar patterns of uploading anti-Western, usually pro-Russian, and anti-Ukraine content. Some channels to note are those owned by the journalists of the TV broadcaster Sezoni TV with full legal rights vested in Giorgi Kandelaki, a Georgian boxer. Local media outlets report that Mr Kandelaki named his Gori café Joseph which features a room called Stalin’s Room to honour Joseph Stalin. Furthermore, Mr Kandelaki is a member of the Goreli association which advocates for the restoration of Joseph Stalin’s statue in Gori. Moreover, he erected a statue of Stalin in his restaurant Ranch in Variani in 2022. FactCheck has covered Sezoni TV’s dissemination of disinformation numerous times (see 1, 2, 3).

Nikoloz Mzhavanadze is the name of the channel owned by Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, a Sezoni TV host. The channel features interviews and broadcast clips that promote Russia. For instance, a video on his channel, which has accumulated over 52,000 views, depicts his visit to Russia and discusses the importance of renewing Georgia-Russia relations. Mr Mzhavanadze has served as a journalist on TV Obieqtivi and Alt-Info and as a lawyer, providing legal representation for individuals accused in the 5 July 2021 case, including Deacon Spiridon Tskipurishvili who, prior to the violent homophobic protest, stated: “You should be violent for your country, violent for God, violent for purity.”

Giorgi Gakhlouri, a journalist hosting the Sezoni TV show called Stalinis Epoka Giorgi Akhlourtan Ertad (Stalin’s Epoch with Giorgi Akhlouri), actively puts out content on TikTok promoting Stalin.

A channel called belimedved7 disseminates pro-Russian propaganda and features anti-Ukraine and anti-Western narratives but openly supportive of Russia (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). One of the most viewed videos of the channel, with 112,000 views, spreads disinformation claiming that Orthodox Christianity has been banned in Ukraine and same-sex marriage legalised. The channel also includes an extensive amount of conspiracy theory videos (see 1, 2, 3).

The TikTok account suxumski781 publishes videos in the Russian language which are supportive of Russia. Further, an altered images of the President of Ukraine can be found on the page (see 1, 2), including one originating from the channel Agentura (see below).

Additionally, refer to the table below which indicates the view count of the most popular videos uploaded by some openly pro-Russian accounts (data as of 20 October 2023):

Category 3: Channels Propagating Against the Opposition, Civil Society and the Media

TikTok also hosts accounts that discredit opposition parties, journalists and civil activists. Notably, many of these accounts are owned by the discrediting Facebook pages. In addition to the collective practice of sharing materials against opposition groups, they primarily operate anonymously with the identities of most page owners usually remaining hidden.

One such channel is aragarevinebt which shares an identical name with a Facebook page. Following the announcement on 8 February 2023 that the platform had restricted the content distribution of the page, they created new accounts (see 1, 2). ISFED discovered that the Facebook pages Ar Agarevinebt and Agentura were associated with an anti-Western campaign with one of the main leaders being Vato Shakarishvili, the founder of the organisation Ai Ia. Prior to 2019, Mr Shakarishvili was a member of the Georgian Dream. He founded the organisation Ai Ia with Gia Gachechiladze in 2021. Furthermore, Mr Shakarishvili participated in the 2021 elections with his political campaign featuring extensive homophobic rhetoric. For instance, he announced that he would gather signatures for “a plebiscite advocating for the prohibition of LGBT propaganda.” Currently, Mr Shakarishvili operates through the Georgia First movement which he founded in 2022.

According to ISFED, these pages operated against the Meta guidelines; particularly, they used suspicious accounts to share their posts across groups and accumulate interactions.

Evidently, these accounts became active on TikTok alongside the Facebook restrictions. The channel aragarevinebt, for instance, publishes TikTok videos that support Vato Shakarishvili (see 1, 2, 3). Their videos predominantly discredit members of opposition parties and journalists. Moreover, the account aragarevinebt uploads pro-government materials (see 1, 2, 3).

As mentioned above, the TikTok channel Agentura is an anonymous page involved in an anti-Western campaign which is associated with Vato Shakarishvili, a co-founder of the organisation Ai Ia. Agentura uploads the same videos on TikTok, as well as Facebook, actively discrediting the opposition (see 1, 2, 3).

Refer to the Facebook reels by the account below:

Refer to the TikTok videos by the account below:

The TikTok account Ukrainologi, also found on Facebook as Mikheil Ganubazhebeli, utilises manipulated photos, videos and memes to discredit the opposition, the critical media and civil activists. Particularly, the account manipulates clips of TV broadcasts and changes voice overs (see 1, 2, 3). Refer to FactCheck’s articles on the disinformation disseminated on this account (see 1, 2, 3).

Similar content can be found on the anonymous channel terentigldaneli1, which primarily tries to discredit civil activists, but expresses positive statements towards the government, especially in support of Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chairman of the Georgian Dream. The author is also active on Facebook, publishing identical content on both platforms.

A deepfake is also found on the aforementioned channel, featuring Giorgi Makharashvili, a popular vlogger known by the internet as Saechvo Kaci, insulting the United States.

Another TikTok page, sharing the same name and profile pictures as its Facebook counterpart, is jurnalists, whose description reads as “Gems of Journalists.” According to the platform Disinfoobserver.ge by ISFED, the Facebook page acts with the objective of discrediting critical media. Their sponsored posts were published under the name of Natela Kiladze who additionally sponsored posts on the page Politikuri Absurdi (Political Absurdities).

Apart from journalists, the account makes a mockery of opposition members, portraying them in a negative manner (see 1, 2, 3, 4). Additionally, it also publishes videos supporting the leaders of the Georgian Dream (see 1, 2, 3).

The TikTok channel archivegeo uploads clips from old TV shows. The account, also active on Facebook with 98,000 followers, tries to negatively portray critical groups by uploading video clips of their old interviews and positions that have since changed.

The aforementioned TikTok account publishes pro-government content, particularly supporting Georgian Dream political leaders, Irakli Kobakhidze and Mamuka Mdinaradze (see the FactCheck’s article discussing the disinformation on this page).

The TikTok channel Realobaaq primarily uploads videos that negatively portray opposition parties (see 1, 2, 3, 4). Additionally, the page uploads materials that are anti-Western, anti-American and against the European Union (see 1, 2) as well as anti-Ukrainian disinformation (see 1, 2, 3). Certain pro-government videos can also be found on the channel (see 1, 2). Previously, the TikTok account participated in the anti-vaccination and COVID-19-related conspiracy theory surge (see 1, 2, 3, 4).

Batumski is another openly supportive channel of the Georgian Dream, particularly of the Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili, and the founder of the party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, as indicated by the page description. Discrediting videos of the opposition and anti-Ukraine content (see 1, 2, 3) can be found on the page. To note further, the page has over 51,000 followers with some of the videos having accumulated over a million views.

Examples of Identical Videos Published by the Pages Mentioned Above:

1. A clip of Mikheil Saakashvili’s statement – Gems of Journalists, Agentura

2. Clip of an interview with Mikheil Saakashvili – Jurnalisturi Margalitebi, Terenti Gldaneli

3. Comment by a United National Movement member, Davit Khajishvili – Terenti Gldaneli, Ar Agarevinebt

4. Mocking during a protest organised by civil society – Ar Agarevinebt, Agentura

5. A video mocking Giorgi Vashadze – Agentura, Politkivili

6. Video manipulation of the opposition regarding EU candidacy status – Jurnalisturi Margalitebi, Mister Aravin, Terenti Gldaneli

7. Video about Mikheil Saakashvili – Terenti Gldaneli, Mister Aravin

Opposition discrediting videos are also shared by the following pages: mteri.ge, politkivili, dinam0, shakochachanidze, geonews, detro97, avimusaipi, misteraravin1.

Additionally, refer to the table below which indicates the view count of the most popular videos uploaded by some accounts against the opposition, civil society and the media (data as of 20 October 2023):

Category 4: Channels Against the Georgian Dream Political Party

This category comprises TikTok channels that distribute content against Georgian Dream, all sharing the common attribute of remaining anonymous and unidentifiable by the username. Unlike the accounts that discredit the opposition, this sub-group does not seem to be coordinated. Moreover, some of the negative and sarcastic keywords circulating in the content shared by these channels are: ‘Russians,’ ‘goyim,’ ‘kotsebi,’ ‘bloody dream,’ etc and are refered to the ruling party.

The TikTok channel Antiupleba negatively portrays the government, particularly and actively targeting the Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili (see 1, 2, 3). Notably, one of their videos, with part of its content targeted towards discrediting the government, features Irakli Gharibashvili and MP Aluda Ghudushauri, with the caption: “Goyim – them and their supporters”. Additionally, refer to the video featuring statements by Irakli Gharibashvili, Kakha Kaladze and Tea Tsulukiani whose description reads: “How can you like these people? Russians.”

The TikTok channel Brdzeni Kotsi (Wise Kotsi) uploads videos against the government (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). The author played Russian background music over a video featuring MPs Beka Odisharia and Irakli Zarkua during their visit to Tsalenjikha; moreover, the description of this video reads: “Beka Odisharia and Irakli Zarkua after their last drink – “Vladimir Putin, maladzec.” Another video discrediting the Georgian Dream features Parmen Margvelidze, a state trustee in the Racha-Lechkhumi-Kvemo Svaneti region, arguing with a local disaster survivor. The latter half of the video features Mikheil Saakashvili’s visit to disaster survivors, promising them support.

Maintaining the same objective, the account published a video clip from the concert of the Imagine Dragons, an American rock band. The video has a Georgian song as background music and the description criticises the Georgian Dream for its expenditures: “The kotsi people spent 70 million to bring Imagine Dragons here and they rocked – play Osuri, that’s what we’re here for!”

Another TikTok channel that uploads anti-government videos is zaratushtra1. Their videos draw attention not only by critical statements but also by an extensive usage of vulgar terms (see 1, 2, 3, 4) such as ‘brainless kotsi,’ ‘dumb kotsi,’ ‘the government of bots,’ etc.

The TikTok account akatone13 (no longer available at the point of publishing this report) features content that discredits and negatively portrays the Georgian Dream (see 1, 2, 3).

The page primarily focused on the founder and ex-Prime Minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili, and the Prime Minister, Irakli Gharibashvili. Additionally, some of the materials on the account were anti-Russian and pro-Ukraine.

Similar content is found on the following pages: aba.ruseti.ginda, Sword-news, gagagigagoga.

Additionally, refer to the table below which indicates the view count of the most popular videos uploaded by some anti-government accounts (data as of 20 October 2023):

Category 5: Pages that Share Conspiracy Theories

TikTok is also utilised to share conspiracy theories in addition to the aforementioned objectives. One such account is samaya_c_morganne, active both on Facebook and TikTok, having accumulated over 28,000 followers on TikTok. The channel focuses on “spiritual/love awakening philosophies” according to its description.

Additionally, the owner of this account has disseminated conspiracy theories regarding COVID-19 and disinformation about vaccination (see 1, 2). The page also features the adrenochrome conspiracy, claiming that certain influential Satanist groups in Hollywood extract adrenochrome from the blood of new-borns to extend their lifespan or use it as a psychotropic drug.

Lasha_traveler_boy is another conspiracy theorist on the platform with over 38,300 followers. The account has disseminated conspiracies regarding climate change such as, for instance, disinformation about the Hawaii wildfires (refer to the FactCheck article on this topic). Another conspiracy theory on TikTok, with over 178,100 views, suggests that the Hamas attack was a response to the alleged Satanist practices during a festival in Israel (refer to the FactCheck article on this topic).