October 2024.
As part of the program Regional Initiative for combating disinformation “Western Balkans Combatting disinformation Center: Exposing malicious influences through fact-checking and Analytical Journalism“, we present you a new analysis of fake news and disinformation narratives.
Kim Dotcom: The West is trying to turn Georgia into another Ukraine
https://lat.rt.rs/svet/115209-kim-dotkom-zapad-gruzija-ukrajina/
Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia on October 26, following months of protests and demonstrations by citizens. In this context, these were not ordinary elections; they had the potential to completely alter the country’s foreign policy direction. The ruling party, Georgian Dream, which has been in power for 12 years, participated in the elections, while the opposition was represented by four major parties: Unity – to Save Georgia, Coalition for Change, Strong Georgia, and For Georgia.
According to preliminary results from the Central Election Commission, with more than 99% of polling stations counted, Georgian Dream secured 54.23% of the vote, maintaining its dominant position in parliament. Meanwhile, the four opposition parties that passed the electoral threshold together won 37.44% of the vote.
Framing the October elections as a kind of “referendum” was a key strategy for most political parties in Georgia. Georgian Dream portrayed itself as a guarantor of peace and stability in the context of the war in Ukraine, promising to protect the country from similar military threats from Russia, while presenting the opposition as a danger that could lead to war. The ruling party also cast itself as the defender of traditional Christian values, opposing what it called “LGBT propaganda,” which, according to them, is promoted by the West, as reported by Civil Georgia. In this way, Georgian Dream framed the elections as a choice between “war and peace” and “traditional values and moral decay,” attempting to motivate voters by invoking fears of losing national identity and stability.
The elections were widely presented in Georgian media as a “choice between Russia and the West,” particularly due to the anti-democratic laws passed this year by the Georgian Dream party, such as the Foreign Agents Law and the Anti-LGBT law. The opposition labeled these laws as “Russian,” and the European Union, in response to their adoption, halted Georgia’s EU accession talks. Consequently, pro-Russian media spread numerous disinformation stories about the elections.
Examples include news on the Russian portal Russia Today (RT), with headlines like: “When the ‘right candidates’ don’t win and Western messages: Is a new Maidan brewing in Georgia?”; “Kim Dotcom: The West is trying to turn Georgia into another Ukraine”; “Speaker of the Georgian Parliament warns: The President and the opposition are preparing a coup.” These stories are part of the typical Russian propaganda narrative about a new Maidan or the protests by pro-European opposition.
The elections in Georgia have attracted the attention of many analysts, including political scientist Glen Dizen, a professor at the University of Southeastern Norway. On his X (formerly Twitter) account, he commented that “the people of Georgia voted for the current government in elections that were approved by the OSCE, but in a way that the West didn’t want.” His statement was further commented on by Finnish-German businessman Kim Dotcom, who added “Ukraine 2.0.” Dotcom became known to the public during the Dotcom crisis, when he was accused of insider trading.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time that media outlets like Russia Today have quoted individuals involved in legal scandals, such as Kim Dotcom. Although their statements have attracted attention, they should not be considered credible sources of information, as they are part of a propaganda campaign and disinformation intended to falsely accuse the West of interfering in the electoral process.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili declared that she does not recognize the election results, calling her country a “victim of the Russian special operation,” and asserted that no one could take away its “European future.” A representative of the Georgian parliament stated that the protests had been pre-planned with the goal of undermining Georgia’s constitutional order, while RT reported that the protests were an attempt by the opposition and the West to open a new front to weaken Russia.
Although Russian media report the statements of officials that are not technically disinformation, their reporting serves to shape public opinion through anti-Western narratives. This approach is becoming increasingly evident, as nearly every news item, regardless of the subject, contains similar rhetoric about the West and Europe as the main actors seeking to destabilize Russia. In this way, current events like the Georgian elections become merely a pretext for spreading established narratives that aim to strengthen domestic support for the regime.
Author: Nataša Stanojević
