The ‘International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy’ (ISFED) says it has identified more than 1,500 fake Facebook accounts, trolls, and bots used to artificially boost engagement with a post published by the pro-government TV channel ‘Imedi’ on Georgia’s Independence Day.
The post, published on May 26, 2026, marked the 35th anniversary of the restoration of Georgia’s independence and featured an image of national liberation leaders Merab Kostava and Zviad Gamsakhurdia alongside Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chairman of the ruling ‘Georgian Dream’ party.
Oganization says the majority of the fake accounts used Georgian names and were deployed to increase the number of likes on the post.
ISFED’s analysis found that many of the accounts shared multiple signs of coordinated inauthentic behavior. The profiles were often created on the same day or within a short period, used similar visual material, followed the same Facebook pages, shared identical posts, and displayed other patterns suggesting coordination, the NGO reports.
“These networks create a broader system of fake accounts supporting the ‘Georgian Dream’, with the aim of artificially creating the impression of popularity and public support on the social media platform,” ISFED states.
The organization identified several common characteristics among the fake accounts, including simultaneous creation, often on the same day or within a few days; the use of stolen or AI-generated profile photos; reuse of the same images across accounts operating under different names; changed or fabricated identities; coordinated activity, such as following the same pages, sharing identical content, and mass-liking and commenting on posts; and links to specific Facebook pages, including those associated with or supporting the ruling ‘Georgian Dream’ party.
ISFED also found that some of the fake accounts were used for commercial purposes, promoting products and services and posting fabricated reviews in addition to engaging in political activity.
