"Georgian trolls surpass the Russian, and the culprit must be sought in the ruling party" - MEP

Georgian trolls

MEP Viola von Kramon, in response to fake news and videos about her on Georgian social networks, claims that Georgian trolls have surpassed their Russian counterparts, and the culprit should probably be sought in the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Von Cramon published an appeal on her Twitter with Georgian subtitles.

On April 4, in the TV program “Results of the day with Nikoloz Mzhavanadze,” historian Dito Chubinidze stated that the maiden name of Viola von Cramon, a member of the European Parliament, was Göring, and that she was “the genetic and spiritual descendant of the Reich Marshal of the Luftwaffe Hermann Göring.”

The historian also claims that the purpose of von Cramon’s visits to Georgia is to do the same thing that Göring, Goebbels, Himmler, Bormann and others did during WWII.

The “Myth Detector” report on disinformation notes that the claim that Viola von Cramon is a descendant of Hermann Göring is false:

“The high-ranking official of Nazi Germany and the European Parliament member have different surnames, and there is no evidence of their relationship. Before her marriage, Viola von Cramon’s surname was Gehring, and Hermann Göring’s surname was Göring.

Hermann Göring was Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force), leader of the Four Year Economic Plan, and Hitler’s declared successor in party and state positions. After World War II, Göring was charged with war crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg trials. He was sentenced to hanging but the day before the execution, he committed suicide by drinking potassium cyanide.

“Congratulations! This time, the Troll of the Month award will definitely go to the Georgian trolls. They even surpassed the Russian trolls. Why? They have established that I am a possible relative of Hermann Göring. Such a thought will come to mind only to those who use the Russian translation of my maiden name. “Göring” and “Giorging” are spelled the same in Cyrillic. In Latin, these two surnames have nothing in common. Just as I, fortunately, have nothing to do with the Nazi politician and war criminal Hermann Göring.

The second fake was even more absurd and clumsy. Drunk woman at a (British) wedding. I have nothing to do with this lady in the video either. It was a classic deep fake video. And it is curious that these fakes were mainly shared by supporters of the ruling [Georgian] party. It is quite possible that it is also worth looking for a customer there. I think it’s better to have open political discussions than to distribute fabricated videos,” Cramon said.

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🇷🇺Kremlin-style #disinformation in 🇬🇪#Gerogia started ridiculous smearing against me. As a @EP_Democracy Rapporteur 4 @GreensEFA, I know perfectly that combating #disinfo would be impossible without independent fact-checkers. Thanks to @MythDetector for uncovering. More👇 pic.twitter.com/3gA13Ayw3y

— Viola von Cramon 🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@ViolavonCramon) April 26, 2023

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On April 25, Viola von Cramon’s Twitter post on an IRI study in Georgia angered the ruling party, affiliated TV channels and propagandists.

“Very good news from Georgia! The anti-European campaign of Georgian Dream and its satellites has completely failed. Nearly 90 percent of Georgians now support joining the European Union. This is the historical maximum of supporters of EU membership. People know perfectly well who is a true friend and who is not!” Von Cramon wrote.

Viola von Cramon has repeatedly accused the Georgian Dream party of Russian propaganda in the past. Last May she responded to Georgian Culture Minister Teya Tsulukiani, who said that a “small group” of foreigners, along with the opposition United National Movement party, were interested in “overthrowing” the government.

“Georgian Dream’s disinformation reaches the level of the Kremlin. Georgian Dream is not Georgia, criticizing Georgian Dream does not mean criticizing Georgia. So I call myself a friend of Georgia, and not a friend of the Georgian Dream. Stop hiding behind the good name of the country. Take responsibility for your failures,” the deputy wrote at the time.