“Georgian Dream illegally used photos of destroyed Ukraine in advertising banners: new details
Kyiv • UNN
The author of the photo of the destroyed church in Bohorodichne claimed that the photo was stolen for the Georgian Dream election campaign. Photographer Lev Radin categorically refused to use the photo, but the party ignored the ban.
The photo used in a series of scandalous election banners "Georgian Dreams" with destroyed Ukrainian cities was stolen. The accusations were made by the project "Detector of Embezzlement", UNN reports with reference to Novosti Georgia.
According to media reports, it is a picture of the destroyed church in the village of Bohorodichne, Donetsk region.
The author of the photo is Lev Radin, an employee of the Sipa US agency. Alamy's stock platform states that use is permitted only for "editorial purposes" - reports, journalistic reviews, news reports, etc.
Radin says he flatly refused when Alamy asked for permission to use the image.
"I categorically refused. But they used the photo anyway, albeit illegally. This is shameful. I will never support the Georgian Dream party," Radin told Detector of Embezzlement.
The press service of Georgian Dream, Sipa US, and Alamy did not respond to the project's inquiries.
"Detector of Embezzlement reminds that Georgian legislation prohibits the use of photos or other materials in election campaigns without the author's permission.
It was these provisions that led to the closure of the popular pirate sites Adjaranet and iMovies, which hosted unlicensed movies.
Recall
On September 26, Georgia's ruling party today unveiled a series of new election posters and a video calling on voters to "choose peace" and say "no to war." They contrast images of Ukrainian cities destroyed by Russian troops with images of churches, parks and new buses in Georgia.
The GM's campaign drew a flurry of criticism. President Salomi Zurabishvili called the posters "made in a KGB forge." Official Kyiv emphasized that depicting the horrific consequences of Russia's brutal war against Ukraine in political advertising is unacceptable. EU Ambassador to Georgia Pawel Gerczynski considered the posters "shameful and disgusting.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said that the people of the country allegedly "did not have full and adequate information about what was happening in Ukraine". According to him, for two and a half years, the opposition media "presented events in such a way" that Georgia "should be jealous of Ukraine." Now, according to Kobakhidze, the ruling party's election banners have shown the truth.
