Culture and Lifestyle

In less than two months the Eurovision Song Contest will be held once more, this time in Switzerland. The competition, established by the European Broadcast Union in 1956, has many detractors but also many loyal fans. Intended to bring the countries of the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) together, the event is meant to be a celebration of cultural diversity and creativity. That hasn’t always been the case, however, especially when the acts are from the South Caucasus.

An organised network operating from Georgia has scammed thousands of savers from the UK, Europe and Canada out of $35m after they fell for fake celebrity adverts on Facebook and Google. According to a report in The Guardian, Deepfake videos and fictional news reports featuring the money expert Martin Lewis, the radio DJ Zoe Ball and the adventurer Ben Fogle were used to promote fraudulent cryptocurrency and other investment schemes. The scammers are understood to have still been contacting victims in recent weeks.