DISINFO: The West is taking revenge on Georgia by supporting the protests
SUMMARY
Western countries support protesters against the adoption of the law on foreign agents in Georgia to take revenge on the country's authorities for their refusal to impose sanctions against Russia and support Ukraine.
RESPONSE
Disinformation around the March 2023 protests in Georgia claiming that the collective West is escalating the protests because the Garibashvili government does not join it in sanctioning Russia. This case also fits the recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about colour revolutions, portraying popular protests as Western-instigated coup d'état.
There is no evidence that recent protests in Georgia were a Western-orchestrated attempt to forcibly change power. Massive protests erupted in Tbilisi after the Georgian parliament passed the first reading of a controversial bill requiring some organisations receiving foreign funding to register as “foreign agents”.
The protesters recognized that the draft law was inspired by similar laws in Russia and they protested against it. Further, the draft law caused fears that it could impede Georgia’s hopes for closer ties with the European Union, following local and international criticism, including from the US, EU and its member states, as well as the UN. Notably, the protests were met with tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons from the riot police that dispersed the rally using force.
As a result of the mass protests, the Georgian Parliament dropped the “foreign agents” draft law after the ruling party withdrew support.
Pro-Kremlin media frequently falsely portray popular protests around the world as instigated from abroad, often by the US and the West. The disinformation narrative has been applied, among others, to reports about protests in Georgia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Belarus, Venezuela, Slovakia, Hong Kong, with the aim of portraying protest movements as aggressive actors who constantly prepare new coups.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that the US is behind attempts to "shake" the situation in Georgia, that protests in Georgia are attempt to forcibly change power, resembling Euromaidan, that protests in Georgia are orchestrated from abroad, that the West obstructs Georgia’s attempt to become an independent state, or that foreign agents in Georgia exploit naïve protesters for regime change.