US Embassy spokesperson on anti-hate speech department lacked understanding or was misled, claims MP Levan Machavariani

“For any conscientious person, it is very simple to draw the line between what can be joked about, and at what point a joke turns into an insult. It is equally simple to know what can be criticised, to what degree, and in what circumstances all of this crosses over into an infringement of dignity. This is a simple truth for everyone,” a member of the parliamentary majority, MP Levan Machavariani, has said.

According to him, anyone is entitled to criticise something or someone they dislike, but no one has the right to write posts that infringe upon a person’s dignity.

“For years, this was funded from abroad, and people grew accustomed to the idea that they could subject another person to any insult, and Facebook was saturated with such insults, abuse and violations of dignity. We must use every possible means to put a stop to all of this in Georgia, whether it’s extremism, political terrorism or fascism. It makes no difference what a person’s political taste is or which party they support. No one can accuse us of the department working one-sidedly or of the court being biased, since fines are issued against people of any political persuasion whose conduct on Facebook is marked by contempt, hatred and insult.

Since this department became operational and the courts began issuing fines, we have been monitoring the situation, and hate speech on social media has decreased considerably. Of course, it has not been reduced to zero, and no one is under any illusion that all of this will be eradicated from start to finish in such a short time; though it will be completely eliminated over the years.

Anyone is entitled to criticise something they dislike, or to criticise a person they dislike, but no one has the right to write posts that infringe upon a person’s dignity. This line is very clear, and insulting another person is certainly not an exercise of freedom of speech. When the opposition or the agents of foreign influence appeal to this argument, they are trying to mislead their own supporters. Everyone has the right to criticise, but no one should have the right to insult others in the public space. Anyone can protest whatever they like, but they shouldn’t do it through abuse.

Write whatever you want on a banner, criticise a person however you like, but texts that infringe upon dignity and constitute insults are prohibited by law in the public space. Anyone who considers it normal to insult, abuse or demean another person in the public space needs to re-examine their own moral compass. Hate speech is used by the opposition acting as agents of foreign influence, together with their media outlets and NGOs, to deepen polarisation within society. When hate speech in the public space declines sharply, this, in turn, will help reduce polarisation,” Levan Machavariani stated.

Machavariani was also asked about a statement issued by the US Embassy, as reported by Radio Liberty, according to which “the Embassy expresses concern over the department combating hate speech.”

“I am deeply convinced that whoever at the Embassy made this statement either does not understand the issue well, or perhaps the question was framed in such a way that they were deliberately misled. There is a very great difference between freedom of speech and insult. If anyone should understand this well, it is the American Embassy. In every single case that ended with a court-imposed fine, what stands out is appalling insult directed by one person against another in the public space. This is unacceptable, and I am certain that it must be unacceptable to the current administration of the United States as well.

There may well be problems in this respect within the United States today; however, we do not intend to dwell on them, given that our relations are undergoing normalisation and there is an optimistic mood regarding their restoration. On that basis, I will not go into further depth, but whoever made this statement either does not understand the issue well or was misled,” Machavariani concluded.