Georgia expects provocations ahead of elections

Some people are planning to release fake audio and video recordings with government officials to destabilize the situation in Georgia ahead of the October 26 parliamentary election, the Georgian State Security Service reported.

"A few days before the parliamentary election, some groups close to political circles are planning to use artificial intelligence and some other modern technologies to create and distribute fake video and audio materials with government officials," the statement reads.

According to the State Security Service, this will be done to provoke confrontation between the branches of government, as well as between the authorities and the Georgian Orthodox Church, and to worsen relations with the West.

The fake information will be presented as material leaked from the state security service. Its creators hope that in this way they can raise the protest spirit and create hotbeds of destabilization in the country.

"The main goal of the said provocation is to artificially create and stir up the protest charge, which will ultimately be used for political purposes”, it said.

The body said it was "carefully monitoring the activities" of the alleged groups and pledged to take "appropriate measures, in accordance with the law”, in the event of “any illegal actions”.

"We are closely monitoring the activities of the said groups and in case of any violation, appropriate legal actions will be taken," the service stressed.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze assessed the information spread by the State Security Service.

"We are talking about political forces that do not want good for our country. This concerns both the forces operating from outside the country and the forces operating inside the country - the radical opposition and their foreign patrons. I think that such acts cannot have any influence on election results, it is good that our state agencies, specifically the State Security Service, are vigilant," Kobakhidze said.