Hoax affects the economy

The Georgian media is discussing the economic losses Georgia will suffer as a result of the hoax report of a Russian invasion broadcast by Imedi TV on Saturday March 13. Economic analyst Davit Narmania thinks that there will be direct short term losses and also long term ones due to the withdrawal of investors.

The short term losses are the immediate losses received by small businesses, such as restaurants, casinos and other places of entertainment, due to the public being afraid to go out. Narmania reckons that on the evening of March 13 only Tbilisi businesses lost around GEL 1 million.

In terms of long term losses the hoax report that the Russians had invaded, the President had been killed and the opposituion was siding with the Russians has obviously given the country an image of instability and the President has publicly announced that the Imedi scenario was quite realistic. So let’s see how potential investors react.