The media platform “Alt-Info” is linked with Levan Vasadze’s political party “Unity, Essence, Hope (ERI). The hosts of Alt-Info were actively involved in organizing the demonstration held against Tbilisi Pride on July 5th, 2021 and were actively encouraging violence. The anti-Western, anti-liberal rhetoric of “Alt-Info” became even more apparent after the events of July 5th. Both the supporters of Vasasdze’s “ERI” and the hosts of “Alt-Info” stressed the importance of using violence as a primary tool for the political and ideological fight and were encouraging the ordinary citizens to burn EU flags. “Alt-Info” has strong ties with Aleksandr Dugin, the Eurasia Movement founder and a right-wing philosopher. Dugin has been supportive of the violent events of July 5th and its aftermath on social media and has appeared as a guest on “Alt-Info’s” programs along other ideologues of the Kremlin.
After Facebook, in 2020, deleted accounts linked to Alt-Info for coordinated inauthentic behavior, Alt-Info obtained a broadcasting license and went on the air in 2021. It obtained general broadcasting authorization on 26 November 2020.
The owners of Alt-Info are Konstantine Mogoshia’s aunt (50 percent) and a presenter of the program, Shota Martinenko (50 percent). Alt-Info Ltd was registered in the Public Registry on January 28, 2019. Konstantine Morgoshia is a former member of the far-right Georgian March and the former majoritarian candidate (in 2016) from the Alliance of Patriots party. Konstantine Mogoshia, registered a new organization, Alternative for Georgia, in 2019; in addition to Morgoshia, co-founders of this organization are presenters of Alt-Info, Shota Martinenko and a Russian citizen Giorgi Kardava, also, Irakli Kizilashvili who is registered at Martinenko’s living address.
The Alt-Info website, publishing news items, was created on 11 June 2017, according to Whois Lookup.
According to the most recent data (August 2021), the programs of “Alt-Info” are being shared by the Facebook page “Alter-platform.” The page was created on July 19th, 2021, only after Facebook removed all the Alt-Info related pages due to instigating violence against the “Tbilisi Pride.” Right before the demonstration of July 5th, six new “Alt-Info” and Levan Vasadze-linked Facebook pages were created. One of the six – “Alt-Information,” has been removed from the platform, while the remaining five are still available and actively share “Alt-Info’s” content. (‼️მნიშვნელოვანი‼️, კონსერვატორი, ტრადიციონალისტური პლატფორმა, ეროვნული იდეოლოგია–უალტერნატივოა, სარკრაზმელები.) There is also a public group of Alt-Info on Facebook, which is administered by Giorgi Odzelashvili. Furthermore, “Alt-Info” actively seeks to mobilize the audience through other social networks such as Viber and Telegram.