"Georgian Dream's" Propaganda to Suppress Protests
Throughout its time in power, the "Georgian Dream" party has been actively conducting information operations against its own citizens. Manipulation of information has become a powerful tool, and, much like authoritarian regimes, "Georgian Dream" employs it to maintain power, legitimacy, and stability. Amid widespread public protests, representatives of "Georgian Dream" and individuals close to the party have continued to spread messages of disinformation aimed at evading accountability and discrediting the protests.
ISFED has been monitoring the origins and development of "Georgian Dream's" propaganda for years. The information warfare waged against its own citizens employs Kremlin-style tactics, including the consistent dissemination of misleading narratives, manipulation of public opinion, and the undermining of healthy debates. Through such campaigns, "Georgian Dream" has, for years, been damaging democratic processes in the country, fostering political polarization, and promoting intolerance toward various groups. The party also engages in discrediting the opposition and attempts to erode trust in the media and non-governmental organizations. A notable example was "Georgian Dream's" 2024 pre-election campaign, filled with anti-liberal, anti-Western, and conspiratorial messages. Recently, it has become clear that the purpose of these tactics is to cast doubt on the country’s pro-Western foreign policy direction and marginalize groups critical of the government.
The infrastructure enabling the stream of disinformation, which has now reached an alarming level, was built over years by "Georgian Dream's" "propaganda ministry." The propaganda mechanism relies on hierarchical groups targeting specific audiences through various sources of information. These include members of "Georgian Dream," their PR technologists, journalists from propagandist media outlets such as "Imedi," "PosTV," and "Rustavi 2," supporters of "Georgian Dream" posing as experts, public figures close to the party, and anonymous individuals operating behind inauthentic accounts. To monopolize the information space, "Georgian Dream" primarily relies on propagandist media outlets on television and Facebook, where it has managed numerous anonymous and official pages for years. It is noteworthy that spreading messages through these pages and associated advertisements involves significant financial resources.
The propaganda infrastructure of "Georgian Dream" has remained active even during the ongoing protests in the country. After Irakli Kobakhidze announced on November 28 the suspension of negotiations on Georgia's EU membership, large-scale protests erupted nationwide. ISFED studied the propaganda messages disseminated by "Georgian Dream" and related actors on social networks to suppress these protests.
Narratives Spread to Discredit Protests
- The protests in Tbilisi are not peaceful
On various social media platforms, supporters of "Georgian Dream," similar to the party's leaders, claimed that the large-scale protests in the capital were not peaceful. To support this claim, they posted photos and videos showing protesters using fireworks. Propagandist media outlets referred to the protesters as "aggressive demonstrators," "radicals," or sarcastically as "peaceful protesters." In addition to highlighting the use of pyrotechnics, significant emphasis was placed on potential provocations, suggesting that such actions could lead to casualties to "escalate the tension." Some of these posts were sponsored. Similar posts were published on Facebook pages and anonymous accounts, including "True Opposition," "Politicians from 1 Lari," "Bidzina Ivanishvili for Georgia," "Leader 41," "Reality," "It’s time for the truth," "Corridor of Shame," and "Philanthropist Bidzina Ivanishvili."
Mamuka Mdinaradze:
As soon as the state deprived them of the source of physical violence, they shifted to moral and psychological violence—they are abusers in both spirit and action because the character of a spy does not account for anything else.
Shalva Papuashvili:
The fact that this several-day violence was premeditated and organized by radical parties was easily confirmed through police operations when the public saw the large quantities of assault tools seized from the parties' offices.
"If there’s no corpse, people won’t come" – a scandalous recording from the "peaceful" protest.
PosTV
"Radicals set the Parliament building on fire."
TV Imedi
"The 'peaceful' protesters are throwing stones and unidentified objects at the police, attempting to provoke them."
Rustavi 2
"On Rustaveli Avenue, the special forces have initiated another phase of the police operation to disperse the protest."
“A participant of a peaceful protest”
This is too much—do you think people cannot see what is happening?
Is this a peaceful protest? Are these peaceful protesters?
These are plain saboteurs and traitors to the country. Yes, traitors—it is time to call things by their true name!
Once again, I want to express my deepest gratitude and solidarity to our police officers and law enforcement, the true heroes.
"This might result in casualties," says one of the participants of the aggressive protest and immediately adds, "The end of the fairy tale story is kind".
The youth blinded and used by the opposition are following in the footsteps of their mentors and are once again seeking corpses.
It is no longer a secret that the widely known "Maidan scenario" requires casualties to escalate the momentum.
This is exactly what one of the participants in the violent protest blurted out. Someone will die, but in return, the organizers will achieve their goals and personal success—they practically do not even hide it.
The progression of the protests also confirms this: at the beginning, they incite the youth with lofty slogans, but once the violence escalates, they disappear from the scene, leaving the youth behind.
#Protest #Goals #BlurtedOut #Casualties
Subscribe to the Telegram channel: https://t.me/sulinfoge
On TikTok, Facebook profiles, and the "Imedi" TV page, messages were spread claiming that protest participants were armed. The photos and videos shared to support this claim were mostly of low quality. However, fact-checking organizations concluded that the card published by "Imedi" was disinformation, showing a person not with a weapon but with a tripod and a camera. TikTok channels @trends_ge and @geo.like promoted a conspiracy theory suggesting that certain forces were planning to acquire lethal weapons and use them against demonstrators to shift the blame onto the police. This narrative was further amplified by pro-"Georgian Dream" media outlets, referencing Zurab Kadagidze, a member of the "People's Power" party.
Allegedly armed "peaceful" protester
A protest participant has a weapon!!!!!
Must Read:
This is a lethal weapon, the use of which could lead to severe consequences.
After failing to achieve their goals with pyrotechnics and work tools, they will soon turn to using such weapons.
They have already started searching for methods and simple means to acquire these lethal tools on a large scale!
These pellets strongly resemble rubber bullets, and once used, they will easily justify it by claiming that the police are using them against protesters.
In short, the vile authors of the "two corpses" strategy have now actively shifted their focus to finding sacrificial victims!
Zurab Kadagidze: This is a lethal weapon, the use of which could lead to severe consequences.
After failing to achieve their goals with pyrotechnics and work tools, they will soon turn to using such weapons.
They have already started searching for methods and simple means to acquire these lethal tools on a large scale!
These pellets strongly resemble rubber bullets, and once used, they will easily justify it by claiming that the police are using them against protesters.
In short, the vile authors of the "two corpses" strategy have now actively shifted their focus to finding sacrificial victims!
Alongside framing protesters as “radicals,” propaganda media referred to the brutal treatment of citizens by law enforcement as “police operations” or “responses to provocations.” Pro-"Georgian Dream" outlets regularly disseminated statistics about injured law enforcement officers but did not share data on detained or injured protesters with the same frequency. Footage of injured law enforcement officers often served as the opening scenes for propaganda television reports.
As a result of the violent actions of protesters, 21 employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were injured on December 1-2. Law enforcement officers sustained various types of injuries and are receiving appropriate medical care.
“Kronika” (Chronicle) at 08:00 - December 2, 2024
As part of a campaign supporting law enforcement, pro-“Georgian Dream” propaganda media outlet "NewsHub" published and promoted videos on December 2 titled "A Citizen Thanks the Police."
- Protests Are Controlled by External Forces and Replicate the "Maidan" Scenario
One of the primary discrediting narratives against the protests was their characterization as a "NatsMaidan." Propaganda media outlets and anonymously operated pages actively shared statements by "Georgian Dream" leaders, claiming that the goal of the protesters was a coup d'état and that the opposition was attempting to involve Georgia in a war. This narrative was also disseminated through Telegram channels.
Prime Minister: "The fourth wave of attempts to stage a revolution, a 'NatsMaidan,' was much weaker. These protests no longer featured the young woman applying lipstick in front of a police officer, the young girls with flowers, or the couple who had run away from their wedding. Everything described in Ackerman's manual has worn out."
Another Ritual or a Poor Maidan Analogy?
#Tbilisi #Kyiv #Analogy
The "NatsMaidan" was planned for December 16-20 and we prevented it.
Philanthropist Bidzina Ivanishvili: "If you don't support “Georgian Dream”, at least trust the Ukrainians—see what..."
Leader 41: Russians, Ukrainians, and other foreigners (foreign intelligence agents and hired operatives) were involved in the radicals' "Tbilisi Maidan Revolution" against Georgian police and the government.
A significant number of foreigners, who were attempting to storm and burn the Parliament building and throw various objects at the police, were detained.
Recordings have surfaced where radicals demanded casualties and corpses to escalate the protest momentum.
On December 1, a Facebook group titled "Anti-Maidani!" was established to discredit the protests. The group’s administrators included not only inauthentic profiles but also individuals such as a host from the propaganda-driven television station "PosTV," current and former employees of local self-government bodies, and supporters of the "Georgian Dream" party, including athletes. Alongside conspiracy theories, the group disseminated pro-"Georgian Dream" messages. The discrediting posts published in the group targeted both protest participants and journalists.
To undermine the credibility of the protests, various actors supporting "Georgian Dream" circulated propaganda narratives alleging the involvement of foreign nationals in the demonstrations, accusing them of contributing to the radicalization of the protests. Some posts, including those related to an English citizen detained near Parliament, were sponsored.
Irakli Kobakhidze: Among those arrested by law enforcement are Russian citizens and a British citizen who illegally stormed the Parliament. It is possible that we are dealing with foreign structures organizing violent groups.
Mamuka Mdinaradze: 30% of the people identified at the protests on the central streets of Tbilisi are representatives of foreign countries.
A foreign citizen, a citizen of England, has been detained – this individual was throwing stones at the Parliament building and launching pyrotechnics at police officers.
A foreign citizen, a citizen of England, has been detained – this individual was throwing stones at the Parliament building and launching pyrotechnics at police officers.
- Anti-Western Campaign
Following the unconstitutional decision by "Georgian Dream" to suspend negotiations with the European Union, amidst widespread public protests, the party's leaders sought to further fuel anti-Western sentiments, blaming the EU and the West for the suspension of negotiations.
This narrative persisted despite repeated clear statements from Georgia's international partners, who emphasized that the sole responsibility for halting the negotiations lies with "Georgian Dream."
Kakha Kaladze: If anyone wants to protest, go to the European Union's delegation office and demand they make a decision regarding the continuation or suspension of negotiations.
Mamuka Mdinaradze: Strategic partnership implies visa-free travel, free trade, and flights—none of which we have. What have they stopped? Such an unserious attitude from certain representatives of administrations or bureaucracies means that they themselves are maximizing the discrediting of the West in the eyes of Georgians.
After Western representatives condemned the inhumane treatment and unjustified violence against protest participants, the propaganda media outlet PosTV published cards featuring fake quotes attributed to the U.S. and EU ambassadors. The descriptions of the cards contained identical text: "This is what an objective ambassador’s comment on the violence committed by protesters should look like". In the fake quotes, protest participants were portrayed as aggressors, while the ambassadors were depicted as condemning their actions. These cards were widely shared across Facebook profiles and groups, though without the explanatory text provided by PosTV. Notably, many in the comments under these propaganda media posts perceived the quotes as genuine. Additionally, the cards were sponsored, though some of them were removed by Meta for violating its policies.
Pawel Herczynski:
It is a fact that when protesters do not resort to violence, the police have no need to respond.
Robin Dunnigan:
I express deep concern over the violence committed by aggressive protesters against the police.
Robin Dunnigan:
I am deeply concerned about the attack by aggressive protesters on a journalist.
Robin Dunnigan:
I am extremely concerned about the vandalism and destruction of the city's infrastructure by aggressive protesters.
To justify the forms of violence used by law enforcement against citizens, propaganda media claimed that protests are suppressed with even harsher methods in Western countries. PosTV published footage of protesters being dispersed by law enforcement in France and Estonia, tagging the embassies of these countries in their posts.
Are you criticizing anyone for the methods of dispersing protests? Ambassade de France en Géorgie
The brutal dispersion of the "Yellow Vests" protesters, which resulted in casualties.
Are you criticizing anyone for the methods of dispersing protests? Embassy of Estonia in Georgia
This is how protests are dispersed in Estonia.
- Campaign to Discredit Protest Participants and Media
Propaganda media targeted activists and public figures (influencers) participating in the protests, including actors, singers, and TV hosts, as part of their discrediting efforts. On popular social media platforms, homophobic messages were spread to undermine the ongoing demonstrations in the country. On Facebook, an AI-generated image was circulated, depicting a couple wearing gas masks while kissing.
Fascist artists
Nanuka Zhorzholiani is asking protest participants to donate money: "It is time to ask you to help fill the fund."
Zviad Tsetskhladze, who was openly discussing overthrowing the government and a Maidan, has been detained.
Pro-"Georgian Dream" media outlets and pages disseminated caricatured and insulting messages about television stations and journalists. The criticism and mockery targeted the coverage of the protests and alleged connections between journalists and opposition political parties.
Fascist propagandists
Diana Trapaidze
Frustrated and tainted TV Pirveli
Kezarashvili’s Baghashvili – New Year’s fireworks, and these flares are not harmful to health.
Information Agency INFO9:
Kezarashvili’s Baghashvili – New Year’s fireworks, and these flares are not harmful to health.
Representatives of "Georgian Dream" and propaganda media attempted to use the attack on a TV Pirveli journalist and cameraman to discredit the protest. Mamuka Mdinaradze, Executive Secretary of "Georgian Dream," commented on the attack on the TV Pirveli crew during a phone-in on the Imedi TV channel. Mdinaradze called the violence against journalists immoral. He described the attack as a "deliberate provocation," stating: "This is sabotage, and there is a high, 99% chance that this was a deliberate provocation amidst the declining momentum of the protest. They managed to create at least a week-long case", said Mdinaradze.
Mamuka Mdinaradze on the attack against the TV Pirveli journalist: "This is neither a police officer nor a member of the special forces. These are not representatives of our supporters. In my subjective opinion, it was likely done by those who need disorder, chaos, and new so-called 'Images' but this requires investigation."
Parallel to Mdinaradze's statement, a conspiracy theory claiming that the attack on the journalist and cameraman was a provocation orchestrated by the protest organizers quickly spread across pro-government anonymous pages, profiles, and groups. Mamuka Mdinaradze's statement was shared on the fake media page "Guria Times," as well as in pro-"Georgian Dream" groups like "Supporters of Georgian Dream", "Bidzina Ivanishvili and the Next Generation#Official", and the page "Leader 41". Conspiracies about the attack were particularly active in the Facebook group "Anti-Maidani!". Members and administrators of the group labeled the attack as a "staged provocation" and accused members of the group "Daitove" of organizing the violence. Later, in the same group, the assault on TV Pirveli journalists was linked to activist Sandro Kinkladze. Once it became known that Sandro Kinkladze had been detained under Article 173 of the Administrative Offences Code for disobedience to law enforcement, posts related to the incident were gradually deleted from the group and other accounts and are no longer accessible.
- The State Security Service allegedly requested muscular men.
- Someone calls 112 and leaves a message.
- Maka somehow locates their exact position in such a large city.
- Zura Girchi happens to be at that exact location, in the building, with a top-down camera angle.
- Someone is continuously filming the beating with a phone.
Is this not a provocation? Is this not staged violence?
In the group "Daitove," one of the discussed options was that opposition journalists would be attacked, and I think they have already started.
Violence will inevitably be punished! The staged provocation will be exposed! Feed your lies to your grandmothers!
The attacker has been detained – Franklin Group
Sandro Kinkladze
On TikTok, the channel @brdzeni_kritikosi, which operates against the opposition, shared a sexist post discrediting Maka Chikhladze, the journalist injured in the attack.
The guys visited TV Pirveli journalist Maka Chikhladze.
On the anonymously operated page "It’s time for the truth", a post was published discrediting public officials who resigned due to the ongoing events in the country. The post linked the public officials to the party "United National Movement".
Today, people in the public sector who speak the truth have already come forward and are openly saying what needs to be said. However, there is still uncertainty!!!
Central Election Commission of Georgia (CEC)—did you fall asleep? Even the judges beat you to it!
Write your statements immediately. Now is not the time for silence; the truth must be spoken!!!
Come forward and speak up!!!
Let us see how many "Natsis" remain in public institutions
#Itstimeforthetruth
- Campaign to Discredit Zurabishvili
Salome Zurabishvili also became a target of discreditation on pages supporting "Georgian Dream" and those targeting individuals unfavorable to the party. Discrediting pages shared clips from Zurabishvili’s interview on "Public Broadcaster", accompanied by mocking and offensive texts directed at her. Other interviews with Zurabishvili were also circulated, similarly aimed at ridiculing her.
"With Dignity Toward Europe! A Dignified Georgian!" writes the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, on social media, responding to the resignation of Irakli Shaishmelashvili, the Head of the Operational Planning Department at the GDD.
Without any hesitation, Madame ‘Nonsense’ uses the slogan of Georgian Dream. However, with one key difference: for her, "entering Europe with dignity" means submission to Europe and sacrificing her country's interests for those of others. That is why she praises someone for abandoning the state at a critical time.
#Salome #Betrayal #Approval
Subscribe to the Telegram channel: https://t.me/sulinfoge
Salome Zurabishvili stole “Georgian Dream’s” slogan
The journalist put her in her place! Bravo!
- Protests Are Not Large-Scale
One of the main narratives used to discredit the protests was to downplay the number of participants. Using manipulated footage and spreading targeted messages, propaganda media and pro-"Georgian Dream" accounts attempted to create the impression that the protests were not large-scale.
Protest at the moment
Overcrowded Rustaveli
- Discrediting Protests Using the Names of Western Experts
Jeffrey Sachs
On December 4, an excerpt from an interview with American professor Jeffrey Sachs circulated on social media. The excerpt and corresponding articles highlighted the following statements attributed to Sachs:
"It is no coincidence that much of the turmoil around Russia is caused by the United States. This is the Biden administration's kind of last shot. There is unrest in Georgia, in Romania... and discussions about sparking new unrest in Moldova as well.
These are countries bordering Russia, where the U.S. is actively conducting covert operations involving organizations like the National Endowment for Democracy. The purpose of these organizations is to create problems for Russia. Events transpiring in Georgia is Biden, Sullivan, Blinken, and the 'Deep State's' kind of last hurrah”.
This excerpt from Jeffrey Sachs' interview was shared by media outlets such as Rustavi 2, Imedi TV, Radio Imedi, PosTV, SPNEWS, the news agency "Info 9," and "Newshub.ge", among others. It was also widely circulated on their websites and social media platforms, with some posts being sponsored.
“The events in Georgia are the last shot of Biden, Sullivan, and Blinken”.
The messages voiced by Jeffrey Sachs align with the narrative of "Georgian Dream," which claims that foreign forces are artificially attempting to bring chaos and disorder to Georgia, fostering the development of a so-called revolutionary scenario.
Jeffrey Sachs is indeed a professor at Columbia University in the United States and a globally renowned economist, one of the authors of the "shock therapy" approach for post-Soviet economies like Russia and Poland. However, it is noteworthy that following Russia's unprovoked and unjustified full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Professor Sachs became known for disseminating disinformation narratives in the information space.
Sachs has propagated false claims such as: NATO expansion provoked Russia; the U.S. will turn Ukraine into another "Afghanistan," sacrificing its citizens to American geopolitical goals; NATO poses an existential threat to Russia. VoxUkraine has identified Professor Jeffrey Sachs as one of the Western experts associated with the dissemination of pro-Russian propaganda. Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sachs claimed that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was not natural but was created in a U.S. laboratory.
Glenn Diesen
On December 1 and 2, posts by political scientist Glenn Diesen, originally published on the platform X, were circulated on pro-"Georgian Dream" channels:
- Molotov cocktails are thrown at police near parliament in Georgia
- The media refers to it as "peaceful protests", yet if this were done in the US it would be labelled an "insurgency"
- The EU continues to support regime change by claiming it "stands with the people of Georgia", but the people of Georgia voted in their national elections.
- This is dangerous election interference that will discredit the EU for years to come. However, the EU narrative trumps common sense.
- The EU and US have activated their "NGOs" to overturn Georgia's election outcome: - When the Georgian police cracks down on the violence, the media will bombard us with images of attacks on "peaceful protesters", which will legitimise further interference to topple the government
- The "non-governmental organisations" (NGOs) that organise anti-government protests and support coups in places such as Ukraine and Georgia are funded by the US governments and aligned with US intelligence agencies (often staffed by "former" CIA officials) - NED was established by President Reagan in 1983 so intelligence agencies could manipulate civil society in the open (hide in plain sight) by doing so under the guise of promoting human rights - There is a sea of evidence of how NED functions as a branch of the CIA, yet they are never held accountable by the media and thus become increasingly brazen - The shamelessness is demonstrated by inviting Victoria Nuland, the leading coup-maker in Kiev, on the board of directors of NED. None of our journalists think this is strange - While the media is silent as the grave, there is plenty of academic work on how these organisations operate”.
The EU continues to support regime change by claiming it "stands with the people of Georgia", but the people of Georgia voted in their national elections.
This is dangerous election interference that will discredit the EU for years to come. However, the EU narrative trumps common sense.
The media refers to it as "peaceful protests", yet if this were done in the US it would be labelled an "insurgency"
The EU continues to support regime change by claiming it "stands with the people of Georgia", but the people of Georgia voted in their national elections. This is dangerous election interference that will discredit the EU for years to come.
Glenn Diesen is a Norwegian political scientist with an academic background who has often been criticized in academic circles and Scandinavian media for his collaboration with Russia Today and the promotion of pro-Russian narratives. Diesen is among those who describe Russia's invasion of Ukraine as NATO's fault.
Diesen positions himself as an expert in Russian foreign policy, conservatism, and Eurasian integration. He is also a member of the Kremlin-affiliated "Valdai Discussion Club". The narratives propagated by Diesen align with Kremlin-promoted messages, particularly in the context of discussing the "collective West".
* * *
Amid the ongoing protests, representatives of "Georgian Dream" and their propaganda sources have been fortifying their disinformation frontline. Instead of addressing the root causes of the crisis or responding to the legitimate demands of the public, "Georgian Dream" continues to demonstrate its power both physically and verbally, seeking to suppress genuine public protests by spreading false accusations about the demonstrations.
Disinformation has become a powerful tool for demonizing protest participants. Through the dissemination of misleading messages, "Georgian Dream" aims to shift blame onto the opposition and demonstrators while justifying the repressive actions and brutal treatment of protesters by law enforcement.
ISFED believes that, alongside other systemic offenders, propagandists and individuals who have worked for years to mislead the public bear significant responsibility for the ongoing crisis. The dissemination of reliable, verified information is a cornerstone of a democratic society. By spreading disinformation, these actors undermine democracy and contribute to the establishment of authoritarianism in Georgia.