On April 7–8, the websites and Facebook pages of the political party “People’s Power,” as well as media outlets Imedi, POS TV, infopostalioni.ge, Kartuli Azri, Rezonansi (1;2), Mkhare.ge, and Mediaholding Kvira disseminated Davit Kartvelishvili’s statement that USAID has been conducting trainings called “Disinformation as a Tool of the Russian Government” in the regions of Georgia for many years. According to Kartvelishvili, “against the background of spreading labels such as ‘Russian Dream,’ ‘Russian laws,’ or ‘Russian faith,” it becomes clear who is the target and what is the subject of the mentioned trainings.”
Davit Kartvelishvili spreads disinformation about USAID trainings. The truth is that the United States Agency for International Development does not conduct training under this name.
The training under the title “Disinformation as a Tool of the Russian Government” cannot be found in open sources. Information about such a project in relation to USAID or other organizations cannot be obtained from open sources.
To verify the circulating claim, Myth Detector contacted the USAID Mission in Georgia. According to Senior Communications Advisor Joseph Larsen, USAID does not organize trainings under this name in Georgia.
On its official website, USAID provides information about more than 35 programs it supports to strengthen Georgia’s resilience to malign influence, consolidate democratic gains, and enable high-income employment and economic growth. These programs include the “Information Integrity Program,” which aims to build and strengthen the capacity of the Georgian population to counter disinformation. The program brings together stakeholders, including civil society, the private sector, the media, and the academic circles, in order to create solutions to protect Georgia from disinformation. The program description also states that USAID supports domestic actors who actively combat disinformation and ensure that the Georgian population has access to fact-based information.
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