In April, the following trends were observed:

• Xenophobic narratives included anti-migrant statements made, among others, by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who presented migrants as a threat to the national identity of Europe. The Sezoni TV channel presented migrants as competitors of Georgians in the labor market. Marriages of Georgian women to foreigners were once again deemed unacceptable.
• Turkophobic narratives promoted the view that the neighboring country was expanding into Georgia and only Russia could contain it. Such statements included conspiracy theories about Meskhetian Turks who had been exiled from Georgia by the Soviet regime and the Treaty of Kars, according to which this treaty could serve as a basis for Turkey’s invasion of Georgia.
• Armenophobic statements related to the strategic partnership agreement between Georgia and Armenia and accused the neighboring country of not recognizing Georgia’s territorial integrity.
• Statements discriminating on religious grounds discussed the various confessions practiced in Georgia in the context of danger to the country.
• The main topic of homophobic statements was the Law on the Transparency of Foreign Influence. The ruling party presented demonstrators against the law as LGBTQIA+ representatives in order to discriminate against them on this basis. Based on fabricated photos circulated on social media, it was claimed that the legalization of same-sex marriage was among the demands of demonstrators. LGBT organizations were accused of trying to overthrow the government. The Georgian Dream disseminated homophobic narratives about the need to ban LGBT propaganda and the increase in the number of LGBTQIA+ people as a result of so-called propaganda.
• Anti-Western messages were linked to the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence and the EU resolution that called on Georgia to withdraw anti-LGBTQIA+ constitutional amendments initiated by the ruling party. Like Russian actors, the Georgian Dream accused the West of fighting against identity and imposing homosexuality to provoke destabilization. It was claimed that the same motive was behind the West’s opposition to transparency and that the protests were carried out by Western-indoctrinated youth. A new message emerged that traditional Georgia could save Europe, which was facing the threat of losing its national identity. Russia was again presented as a counterweight to a perverted Europe.

Xenophobic messages included anti-migrant statements. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze portrayed migrants as a threat to the national identity. Marriages of Georgian women to foreigners were again deemed unacceptable, while ethnic minorities living in Georgia were seen as competitors of Georgians in the labor market.

Irakli Kobakhidze, Prime Minister: “Uncontrolled migration poses a very serious threat to the national identities of European countries. If these processes continue at the same pace, the local population in a number of countries will very soon become a minority.”

Davit Zirakishvili, League for the Protection of Article 5 of the Constitution: “The population leaves the country, and instead of them foreigners enter it, foreigners of thousands of ethnicities, and what kind of foreigners, folks! We are ennobling such ethnicities - the people that are not worth a toe nail of the Georgian nation and have historically been sworn enemies of Georgia. This is who we help to breed and whom Georgian women marry. The country has turned upside down, degraded, and perverted; blood has mixed.”

Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, Sezoni TV presenter: “The delivery service brought some products, and the courier was a foreigner from India; he telephoned me. I was in the restaurant, and at first, I thought he was Azerbaijani, as he had a dark complexion. Later, I learned that he was an Arab. In short, people are going abroad in search of jobs, while even the jobs that are available here are being taken up by people arriving from various poor countries. In the end, this country will be left to these UNM pederasts, these whores and prostitutes, and these aliens…”

Turkophobic messages portrayed Turkey as a hostile country interested in expanding into Georgia, and Russia as the country that saved us from its influence. Conspiracy theories about Meskhetian Turks exiled from Georgia by the Soviet regime and the Treaty of Kars were expressed. Sezoni TV asserted that the Treaty of Kars provides the basis for Turkey’s intervention in Georgia.

Davit Zirakishvili, League for the Protection of Article 5 of the Constitution: “If it were not for Russia, Georgia would not be Orthodox Christian today; it would be like Adjara, and like Tao-Klarjeti, which is now part of Turkey, where the Christian faith was changed long ago, and in Adjara the process of departure from Christianity is still going on. During the period after April 9, Adjara turned towards Christianization, but now it has turned towards Turkey again. All this has been organized by Satanists…”

Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, Sezoni TV presenter: “We are well aware of the connection between us and Turkey; Under the Treaty of Kars, the Moscow Treaty, if the rights of Muslims are violated here, Turkey gets a free hand to fulfill its aims here, and the ground is being prepared for that; the situation is presented as if there is no mosque in Georgia and the rights of Muslims are being violated; just grab these rascals and put them in jail ….”

Igor Kveselava, historian: “Today, Adjara is actually occupied by Turkey because all good hotels, restaurants, lucrative businesses, and the best plots of land are, without exception, in the hands of Turkish businessmen.”

Dito Chubinidze, journalist of Asaval-Dasavali: “In September-November 1944, on the initiative of the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union, Lavrenti Beria, the so-called Meskhetian Turks, i.e., a Turkish landing force, were exiled to Central Asia … Zviad Gamsakhurdia and Merab Kostava regarded those exiled by Beria as ‘Georgian Patriots,’ which was a mistake. Zviad Gamsakurdia soon realized that the absolute majority of those exiled by Beria had not the slightest trait of Georgians, but were, in fact, ethnic Turks living in historic Meskheti, who had supported the occupier Turkey during the second World War and were ready to split up Georgia.”

According to Armenophobic messages, the strategic partnership agreement concluded with Armenia poses a threat to Georgia and is an act of treason because Armenia does not recognize the territorial integrity of Georgia.

Mikheil Tsagareli, astrologer: “From the second half of the year, military situations will be provoked all over the world, including Georgia. What Georgia has done - I mean the agreement concluded with Armenia - is an act of treason! Signing such an agreement with a country that does not recognize your territorial integrity and opposes the return of Georgians to Abkhazia cannot be justified!”

Racist messages referred to people of color living in Georgia in offensive terms.

Obiektivi TV viewer: “Tainted people, people with a different skin color are walking around instead of that segment of population that has left Georgia.”

Davit Zirakishvili, League for the Protection of Article 5 of the Constitution: “This United National Movement, its supporters, and numerous religious confessions are directed against Russia, but let me tell you that you will not succeed, just as you will not succeed in building a mosque to degrade the Georgian village there; all this will end very soon…”

Soso Shatberashvili, Leftist Allaince: “I was in Gldani the other day and saw the house of Jehovah’s Witnesses; Jehovah’s Witnesses have also built a house and are acting freely, doing whatever they want.”

The main topic of homophobic statements was the Law on the Transparency of Foreign Influence. The Georgian Dream, like far-right, pro-Russian actors, portrayed protesters against the law as LGBTQIA+ individuals in order to discredit them on this basis. There were messages claiming that among the demands of demonstrators was the legalization of same-sex marriage. This claim was made by a number of pro-government media outlets, including a POSTV presenter, based on fabricated photos circulated on social media in which banners with a text against the transparency law were replaced with a demand for the legalization of same-sex marriage. LGBT organizations were also accused of trying to overthrow the government. The ruling party disseminated homophobic statements about the need for a law banning LGBT propaganda and the increase in the number of LGBTQIA+ individuals as a result of such propaganda. The claim that homosexuality is a disease and violence against homosexuals is justified was again propagated.

Gia Volski: Georgian Dream: “There is a headquarters where things like who the speaker will be, what he will say, and to what extent and at what level the LGBT topic should be presented are being planned; we already see mottoes, young girls holding banners with profanities written on them. Also, some boys have turned up who came to the rally with their husbands…”
 
Gia Kereselidze, Movement for United Georgia: “Who was standing on Rustaveli Avenue yesterday? We clearly saw representatives of Tbilisi Pride, their administration, who were speakers, and the so-called Georgian people.”
 
Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, Sezoni TV presenter: “A Georgian boy was holding a placard that said that they do not get erections from Svetlanas… That you are pederasts is clear from these placards… You do not want Svetlana or Natasha, and you just want to be in bed of those. However, we want these Svetlanas and Natashas, and if you do not want them, then go in bed with your pederasts.”

Zviad Avaliani, POSTV presenter: “At this protest, there are slogans that have nothing to do with the protection of rights; ‘no to Russian law,’ but there was also the slogan ‘yes to same-sex marriage’ and a number of other slogans that clearly indicate that the LGBT discourse is being introduced by them, introduced by the radical opposition.”

Davit Tarkhan-Mouravi, Alliance of Patriots: “I think that LGBT propaganda must be prohibited. It is a correct but rather belated step… They saved it for the election.”

Irakli Kobakhidze, Prime Minister: “As sociological surveys prove, in the USA and many European countries, around 20% of the population aged 18-25 declares themselves LGBT. Among young people aged 26 to 32, this figure is three times lower, which means that the number of LGBT people has tripled in the span of a mere seven years as a result of the propaganda.”

Giorgi Akhvlediani, POSTV presenter: “LGBT organizations operating in Georgia have ceased to be organizations shouting about the rights of homosexuals and transgender people for several years now. The main function of their existence is to organize a violent coup in the country and replace the national values-oriented government with the pseudo-liberal UNM cluster. Otherwise, prides, identities, and equalities have no chance to establish a standard of perversion in Georgia.”

Gia Kereselidze, war veteran: “People like Tabagari may even bring men home and get married and have been married themselves, but that does not mean that we, ordinary people, should consider it a norm. It is a disease, and everyone knows full well that it is a deviation from the norm, and a large segment has this disease…”

Tristan Tsitelashvili, military expert: “All those who participated in the struggle for the territorial integrity of Georgia stand on the side of the state and not on the side of the pederasts… If need be, we will come forward and sweep them away like dust in an organized manner. We will blow, and they will disappear. They will disappear in this way; they’d better come to their senses, these pederasts.”

The ruling party, together with pro-Russian and far-right actors, accused the West of fighting against identity and imposing homosexuality in order to provoke destabilization in the country. The same motive was said to be behind the West’s opposition to the draft law on “prohibiting pseudo-liberal values” and transparency of foreign influence, which Western-indoctrinated youth protested against. A new message emerged that traditional Georgia could save Europe, which was facing the threat of losing its national identity. Russia was again presented as a counterweight to a perverted Europe.

Gia Volski, Georgian Dream: “The only topic on which we cannot agree with our European partners is that LGBT propaganda is unacceptable for Georgia… This is the topic of the identity of the nation, which is directly related to the issues of national security and national stability… The law must be the same for everyone, but when there is coercion and an attempt to start some processes in this direction, it means that it is used as yet another mechanism of destabilization; that’s why this topic is raised; we cannot agree on a liberal attitude towards this topic…”
 
Georgian Patriarchate: “The entry in the Resolution of the European Parliament that it is unacceptable for Georgia to adopt a law prohibiting LGBT propaganda among youngsters, represents pressure against values recognized by the majority of the country’s population.”

Shota Martinenko, Conservative Movement: “For example, the grants that Europe sends are spent on activities aimed at making the LGBT condition considered normal… Europe does not want transparency because it is an objective problem. If Europe shows its true face and shows what kind of propaganda it is giving grants for: anti-moral, anti-Christian, anti-national, pro-LGBT, support of insanely liberal immigration policy, something multicultural, and in this sense, suicidal for any nation, if Europe shows this and becomes transparent that it transfers grants for this, then Europe’s influence will end.”
 
Beso Barbakadze, journalist of Georgia and World: “Absolutely everyone knows that the law is not Russian, but they also know that after the adoption of this law, the West, which has firmly put on the mask of a caring partner, will be exposed, and we will see its true face; we will see that leaders of Tbilisi Pride  get funding from the West, that before every 17th of May European countries or organizations transfer 2-3 million USD to them, that they do not spare money for LGBT propaganda and try to introduce all this not only in schools but also in kindergartens.”
 
Tamar Chiburdandze, People’s Power: “Pardon my language, but they are spitting into the souls of Georgian people. They are telling us: we will transfer as much money into your country as we want and spend it on whatever we want, we will destroy your children with the help of ideology, desecrate churches, and do not dare to ask a question about it. They warn us: we can destroy you, and you dare not demand anything and die in a lie.”

Tristan Tsitelashvili, military expert: “We remember perfectly well how the United States of America brought two thousand teachers to Georgia. It was during the presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili, and all of them were CIA agents, and they were distributed to schools, higher educational institutions, and the result of it was these children. These are the children who were taught by those special services and who were trained by those special services… This is where this money was spent, the US invested these sums in this in order to corrupt and pervert our young grandchildren, small ones.”

Mikheil Zghenti, Solidarity for Peace: “From a country with limited sovereignty, we have turned into a semi-colonial country. Today, we are facing the following choice: the West is telling us: either you allow LGBT propaganda and pursue our traditions and historical heritage, or as soon as you decide to pursue the interests of your country, your faith, your religion, and your traditions, we will not accept you.”

Tamta Megrelishvili, People’s Power: “Europe is lost in the challenges of immorality, and on the path from great culture to great non-culture, there is no one to save it, but next to Europe stands, distant in distance but very close in traditions, the Georgian state, which for the past 12 years, despite very difficult challenges, has maintained sovereignty and firmly defended the cultural, ethnic, religious, and sexual identity of its population, and this experience is the best practice to be shared with Europe. We want Europe with Europeans.”
 
Pridon Injia, European Socialists: “It would be beneficial to create a textbook of ‘Georgian values’ to be taught at school. These very Georgian values include family values as well as values of Christianity, patriotism, and others. It is equally important that this textbook be translated and ‘Georgian values’ be taught in Europe.”

Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, Sezoni TV presenter: “I want to tell the government that Georgian people want to be with Russia, not with this sodomite West. If you make the statement that you are establishing relations with Russia, there will be a million people standing there, not 10,000 as it is now. That’s why you are afraid, and that’s why Silknet refuses to switch on our channel; that’s why Russian channels are switched off, because you are afraid of the truth.”