Georgia has been on the receiving end of Russian information manipulation and interference, including pro-Kremlin disinformation for decades. In line with the Kremlin’s disinformation playbook, Georgia has been targeted by misleading and false narratives seeking to undermine Georgia’s independence, question its territorial integrity and erode its sovereignty. From making baseless claims about Western attempts to instigate a ‘colour revolution’ in Georgia, to pushing disinformation narratives fomenting anti-Western sentiments, to endangering public health with spreading myths about vaccination and outright lies about biological research laboratories, no topic has been beyond the scope of Russian disinformation in Georgia. Since Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the information environment in Georgia has also seen a rise in the spread of pro-Kremlin disinformation, particularly targeting Georgia’s European aspirations, spread by both external and internal actors.
The East Stratcom Task Force has been monitoring the information space and collecting telling examples of the most pertinent disinformation narratives in its EUvsDisinfo database, available below.
Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.
