The following trends were identified in February:

• Xenophobic messages portrayed foreign nationals in a negative light, offering ethnic Russians as their positive alternative. Old narratives about the threat of demographic expansion from ethnic minorities and the unacceptability of Georgian women marrying foreigners persisted. Ethnic identity was again used to discredit opposition politicians.
• Turkophobic narratives focused on the fear of Turkish expansion in Adjara, and the containment of thise threat was credited to Russian tourists. According to Sezoni TV, MP Tariel Nakaidze is a spy for the Turkish special services in the Georgian parliament to fight against Orthodox Christianity.
• Armenophobic statements intensified after the signing of the strategic partnership agreement with Armenia. They called it a provocation that would lead to confrontation with Russia. According to the same actors, Armenia does not deserve the partnership because it does not recognize the territorial integrity of Georgia. As in the previous months, the Armenian identity was used for the aim of discreditation.
• Religious discrimination was expressed in anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic remarks. As claimed by the Georgia and World news site, the “Jewish mafia” controls the foreign policy of the United States. Sezoni TV criticized the Catholic Church for its support of LGBTQIA+ rights.
• The rise in homophobic statements became particularly noticeable after the ruling Georgian Dream party announced its initiative to legally prohibit LGBT propaganda. This initiative was welcomed by the government-affiliated political party, People's Power, while the Alt-Info-Conservative Movement justified the use of violence to pass the law. The Georgian Dream also openly expressed homophobic attitudes towards same-sex marriage.
• Moreover, most of the homophobic narratives were directed against transgender people and the author of such narratives was the pro-government media outlet POSTV. After the film, “Crossing,” produced by a company owned by a daughter of Mamuka Khazaradze, the leader of the political party Lelo, received the prize for an LGBTQ-themed film at the Berlin International Film Festival, homophobic narratives began to be associated with the opposition politician.
• The anti-Western remarks related to a statement by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the use of gender-neutral terms and a statement by the British National Health Service that breast milk produced by transgender women was as good for babies as that produced by a mother. Like the far-right conservative actors, the Georgian Dream accused the West of fighting national identity and imposing homosexuality. The resignation of “the defender of traditional values,” Irakli Gharibashvili, was also presented as a directive from the West. Traditional China and Russia were again offered as counterweights to the perverted West.

Xenophobic narratives presented all foreign nationals living in Georgia, with the exception of ethnic Russians, in a negative context. An old narrative criticizing Georgian women for marrying foreigners persisted. Ethnic identity was emphasized again to discredit opponents.

Beso Barbakadze, journalist of Georgia and World: “Can someone explain to us why the President is trying to block citizens of the Russian Federation in particular and why she is giving the green light to Iranians, Chinese, or Turks?... Spare me the assertion that they are strategic partners or can do more than representatives of the Russian Federation. You do not need any statistics; just go out on the street and ask ordinary people which of the employers pays them more and which of the foreigners tries to do a better job than Russians.”

Zurab Makharadze, host of Alt-Info: “You should not adopt the attitude that it is, oh my God, very bad that you cannot hear Georgian speech in Tsalka, but this is the reality, and you have to put up with it and just go on living. Eventually, you will find yourself in a minority. Georgians all over Georgia will be a minority because of this attitude. Others do not have that attitude. Others remember their history and religion and have a sense of unity.”

Dito Chubinidze, host of Sezoni TV: “There are people who hold seats in the parliament and are active in the leadership of political parties whose ethnic origin and nationality raise very serious questions. Does anyone think that this Elton Chkonia or Satenik Mehribekyan, that is, Salome Samadashvili is a Georgian? Do they look like Georgians? Or Zurab Gichi Japaridze, who, dear friends, is as much Japaridze as I am Xi Jinping’s cousin…”

Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, host of Sezoni TV: “I will probably kill myself if my children marry foreigners… The other day, I cited statistics: 700 Georgian women married Turks … How can a woman sleep peacefully when her child marries a Turk and there will be no more Georgian genes? If everyone marries foreigners, will Georgia still exist, I wonder?”

The Turkophobic narrative continued to portray the neighboring country as a hostile state and credited Russian tourists with the survival of Adjara from “physical and spiritual expansion” coming from Turkey. Turkophobic narrative was linked to the action that took place in the public school of Artsivan village, which is populated by ethnic minorities, when Orthodox clerics conducted a ritual of blessing in the mentioned educational institution. The opposition politician, MP Tariel Nakaidze, was accused of cooperating with the special services of Turkey after he inquired about the position of the education minister on the matter.

Arno Khidirbegishvili, author at Asaval-Dasavali: “Thanks to his wise policy, Bidzina Ivanishvili has managed to tackle yet another fundamental issue in a period of global turmoil: by using Russian citizens who, after the launch of the special operation [in Ukraine], moved to live in Batumi, opened businesses, and purchased real estate (that had a beneficial effect on the Georgian economy and curbed inflation), Adjara, which had almost become a Turkish province, became Georgian again… Bidzina Ivanishvili’s policy has protected Adjara from physical and spiritual expansion, and does anyone think that this is not enough?”

Irakli Martinenko, Conservative Movement: “If tomorrow we have a war with Russia, Turkey itself will enter Georgia … Russia and Turkey are claiming real influence in Georgia, and if Turkey gains influence in Georgia, this will add to its strength, and it will become a dangerous force for Russia; now it is also a serious force…
Zura Makharadze, host of Alt-Info: If Turkey sees that Russians are occupying a large part of Georgia, it will, at least, enter Adjara.”

Dito Chubinidze, journalist of Asaval-Dasavali: “That impotent minister, Giorgi Amilakhvari, frightened by Tariel Nakaidze, who is believed to be working for Turkish intelligence, said at the meeting of the parliamentary committee that they will investigate and react adequately to that fact! In other words, the director of the public school in Tsalka, the headteacher of the class, and most importantly, the Pope, who entered the class during the lesson and talked to the children about religion, may be severely punished!”

Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, host of Sezoni TV: “One can still hear questions to the Minister of Internal Affairs as well as the Minister of Security about what they are doing about Russian tourists, statements that Russian tourists will be followed by the Russian army, and calls that Russian tourists must be stopped. On the other hand, Turks have flooded all of Adjara, or when you walk along Aghmashenebeli Avenue, you cannot figure out what country you are in.”

Armenophobic statements followed the signing of a strategic partnership agreement with Armenia. It was presented as a provocation and an attempt to draw Georgia into a war with Russia, which, according to the same authors, was followed by the resignation of Prime Minister Gharibashvili. The emphasis on Armenian identity was used to discredit the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Georgia, Meline Arakalian, as well as Lazare Grigoriadisi, who was detained during demonstrations against the Russian law.

Mikheil Tsagareli, astrologer: “They [the government] should not have signed the strategic partnership agreement with Armenia! It was a very dangerous mistake. I wish I were wrong. First of all, Armenia does not deserve it because it does not recognize the territorial integrity of Georgia, and even in the UN does not support the return of refugees to Abkhazia; besides, we are entering into confrontation with Azerbaijan and Turkey.”
 
Arno Khidirbegishvili, author at Asaval-Dasavali: “Pashinyan is making efforts to give it maximum legitimacy and to this end… forced Prime Minister Gharibashvili to sign a strategic partnership agreement between Georgia and Armenia … This provocation cost Irakli Gharibashvili his resignation from the post of Prime Minister… This is the twelfth year that Bidzina Ivanishvili has been steering Georgia away from a military conflict with Russia, and the cunning Pashinyan has actually violated the Collective Security Treaty signed back in 2002… He is also trying to drag Georgia into this provocation by claiming that from now on, Armenia is Georgia’s strategic partner in terms of Euro-Atlantic integration!
Pashinyan signed the abovementioned agreement on the eve of the 80^th anniversary of the lifting of the Siege of Leningrad, when, in parallel, the monument to the Children of the Siege of Leningrad was desecrated in Yerevan. Before that, on January 9, 2024, a Georgian associate of an Armenian vandal desecrated the icon of St. Matrona of Moscow in the Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi.”

Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, host of Sezoni TV: “I respect all ethnicities, but is Arakelian not an Armenian? This Grigorian changed his surname to [Lazare] Grigoriadisi; I’m reading here that the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Georgia is Meline Arakalian; do you hear? So, this Arakelian… I cannot understand. Has this Armenia dried up and everybody fled from it, or what’s going on? So, Arakelian, this ambassador of Armenia or the Netherlands, the Dutch ambassador of Armenian ethnicity, is telling us not to stop and make progress, and this is our assistance.”

Iakob Lezhava, journalist for Georgia and World: “Interesting is the conclusion he [John Mearsheimer] made with Professor Stephen Walt around 20 years ago: ‘U.S. foreign policy is influenced by the pro-Israel lobby, i.e., it is completely controlled by the Jewish mafia,’ which, believe it or not, 82-year-old former president Jimmy Carter, probably emboldened by his age, called the absolute truth.”

Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, host of Sezoni TV: “So, this is the Catholic Church, and you can see these transgender and gay people organizing and participating in fashion shows.”

The rise in homophobic statements became particularly noticeable after the Georgian Dream announced its initiative to legally prohibit LGBT propaganda. This decision was welcomed by the government-affiliated political party, People's Power, while the Alt-Info-Conservative Movement justified the use of violence to pass the law. The Georgian Dream also openly expressed homophobic attitudes towards same-sex marriage. In addition, most of the homophobic remarks were directed against transgender people, portraying them as people with mental disorders and suicidal tendencies. After the film “Crossing,” produced by a company owned by the daughter of Mamuka Khazaradze, the leader of the political party Lelo, received the prize for an LGBTQ-themed film at the Berlin International Film Festival, homophobic narratives began to be associated with the opposition politician. According to the Conservative Movement, Abkhazians would prefer Russia to Georgia, which pursues LGBT ideology.

Zurab Kadagidze, People’s Power: “The eradication of LGBT propaganda is a decision taken at the right time, because the attempt to introduce an obscene lifestyle is sweeping the country. It is necessary to pass this law as soon as possible. Not a step backward in this matter!”
 
Giorgi Kardava, Conservative Movement: “If we present and force the government to adopt this law, it will be a great victory for our state, for our nation…. If we see the liberal flank trying to thwart the passage of this draft legislation through protests and various political moves, our flank – the national-conservative forces - must step up and force, including physically, both the government and the liberal flank to adopt this law without any problems.”

Davit Matikashvili, Georgian Dream: “We have strictly stipulated in the constitution that the family is the union of a woman and a man. This is the reference point for all this.

Giorgi Akhvlediani, host of POSTV: “As it turned out, per 100 000 people per year, transgender people are eight times more likely to attempt suicide than healthy people. They kill themselves four times more often… 81% of transgender people who have had gender-affirming surgery, experience unbearable pain for, at least, five years. For some, that pain lasts forever…. So, if you decide to disfigure yourself, keep in mind that you will suffer for the rest of your life.”

Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, host of Sezoni TV: “Are you not ashamed, Mamuka [Khazaradze]? Your car exploded for a reason, soon you will explode too… Are you not ashamed? You will run for the election, and what will you tell your electorate? Will you tell them that you finance, while your daughter and your whole family are involved in producing sodomite films? You, scoundrel!”

Guranda Bilikhodze, journalist of POSTV: “Children growing up in gay families, children growing up in lesbian families, children growing up in transgender families, children born by grandmothers, uncles, aunts, children fed with hormone-laden male milk instead of mother’s milk, gender-affirmation surgeries at an early age and hormonal therapy for children, damaged psyche and health – this is the reality in which thousands of children have to live today. It seems that the world has turned into one big laboratory where children are being experimented on, and nobody knows how all this will affect the physical or mental health of these children in the future.”
 
Vato Shakarashvili, Georgia First: “They openly declare that children and our children are their targets… The main slogan at the so-called LGBT Pride marches organized recently is ‘we are coming for your children’.”

Shota Martinenko, Conservative Movement: “He [Kakha Gogidze, actor who stars in the TV series My Wife's Girlfriends] is the embodiment of why Abkhazians would prefer to disappear rather than reintegrate with such people and become like them. Abkhazians would prefer a million times more to become Russians, i.e., lose their national identity and turn into Russians in order not to become part of a nation with an LGBT ideology agenda.”

The anti-Western rhetoric intensified after a statement by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the use of gender-neutral terms and a statement by the British National Health Service that breast milk produced by transgender women was as good for babies as that produced by a mother. The Georgian Dream accused the West of fighting traditional identity and imposing homosexuality. The Conservative Movement deemed it justified to reject Western integration for the adoption of a law banning LGBT propaganda. The resignation of “the defender of traditional values,” Irakli Gharibashvili, was also presented as a directive from the West. Traditional China and Russia were again offered as counterweights to the perverted West.

Rati Ionatamashvili, Georgian Dream: „When they speak about banning terms [Antony Blinken’s statement on the use of gender-neutral terms], the terms that are among the most valuable of existing terms - whether it is mother, father, a daughter, etc. – there is a very evil intention behind it, to which our society must have and has a very healthy and adequate reaction.”
 
Tamta Megrelishvili, People’s Power: “Antony Blinken issued a decree and called on the staffers to refrain from using words such as ‘mother’ and ‘father,’ ‘son’ and ‘daughter,’ ‘wife’ and ‘husband.’ The US Secretary of State’s decree was followed by a statement from the National Health Service of Britain that so-called breast milk produced by so-called transgender women is just as good for babies as that produced by a mother. This is a clear instruction to transform mankind from the traditional family to the number one and number two parent.”

Irakli Gharibashvili, Georgian Dream: “More than 90% of our people think that it is necessary to protect our children, grandchildren, and the younger generation from this harmful, let’s put it bluntly, anti-national, anti-human propaganda. Look at what’s happening all over the world, what trend prevails. There is an aggressive campaign and aggressive propaganda going on all over the world. Transgender people are brought to kindergartens and schools to show them to children and to tell kindergarten- and school-age children in the United States, in Europe, and everywhere that if they do not like their gender, they can change it.”
 
Mamuka Mdinaradze, Georgian Dream: “International surveys show that in a number of countries where pseudo-liberal ideology is particularly widespread, the share of people of non-traditional sexual orientation among young people aged 18 to 25 is already 20%, and in some places even more. We may have to face reality when we are required to legalize civil partnerships. We already had such a case when foreigners demanded that we introduce the terminology of women and men and gender equality, and we had to fight quite hard to refuse to do so.”

Shota Martinenko, Conservative Movement: “Back then, those liberasts took to the street and forced the Georgian Dream to withdraw the bill, but now people must stand up and say that no one can impose anything on society and that society is in favor of this [the law against LGBT propaganda]. Besides, we do not give a damn if it costs us the loss of chances for Western integration; we are risking it; that’s what society chooses; and if someone has the courage, let them oppose society; we are ready for that.”

Valeri Kvaratskhelia, Georgia and World: “There has been a change of prime minister in Georgia. I have repeatedly said that this happened as a result of external pressure. Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili was so steadfast in maintaining peace in Georgia and defending traditional values that this has caused concern in the West.”

Zviad Avaliani, host of POSTV: “Orthodox Christianity has fallen [in Greece]. The state has declared same-sex marriage legal… and this happened as a result of pressure from the West. Now listen to me: either choose this path of sodomites or choose relations with Russia that forbids propaganda of all kinds of perversion.”

Dito Chubinidze, co-host of Sezoni TV: “I am not telling you anything new; just go to the Internet and see what is going on in Christian cathedrals in Europe. One of the cathedrals in Austria was built during 300 years, and today, dogs and cats are married in it; the same fate awaits us if we do not strongly resist it.”

Giorgi Kardava, Conservative Movement: “People who under the auspices of freedom of speech and expression sat on our heads, people who told us to tolerate the insulting of the church and God, to tolerate the depiction of our kings on condoms because that’s what freedom of speech and expression is, because they are such a precious commodity that you have to tolerate everything, and these very people, once they came to power and built themselves golden toilets, now tell us not to tell the truth about the European Union; this system and value are so ugly that they are not even viable.”