Georgian Dream Weaponizes LGBT-Related Conspiracy Theories

Executive Summary:

• Georgian Dream has intensified LGBT-focused conspiracy theories to mobilize public support against the European Union, falsely portraying integration demands as threats to national sovereignty, family values, and traditional identity, echoing Kremlin-style propaganda tactics.
• Public opinion polls in Georgia show that the population remains strongly pro-European, with higher enthusiasm among youth, while a majority holds Georgian Dream responsible for a potential visa-free suspension.
• Pro-Russian groups allied with Georgian Dream push for a plebiscite questioning EU accession, framing Brussels as demanding “LGBT propaganda” and identity erasure.

August 31 marked the European Union’s deadline for the ruling Georgian Dream party to restore democratic practices in Georgia, repeal anti-democratic legislation adopted over the past year, and revise the National Human Rights Strategy and Action Plan to ensure the full protection of LGBTIQ people’s rights. This legislation includes the law “On the Transparency of Foreign Influence” and the package of bills “On Family Values and the Protection of Minors” (see EDM, July 3, 2024; European Commission, July 14). In response to the “serious democratic backsliding” in Georgia, the European Commission is considering suspending the visa-free regime and is demanding that the Georgian authorities implement recommendations (see EDM, May 7). On August 13, the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on European Integration, Levan Makhashvili, stated, “If Brussels, instead of maintaining the visa-free regime, wants to promote LGBT propaganda and interfere in internal affairs, the public’s reaction will be unambiguous: blackmail and manipulation will not work in this matter” (1tv.ge, August 13). According to a public opinion poll conducted by CRRC-Georgia between August 8 and 12, the majority of the Georgian population—78 percent—believes that a possible suspension of the visa-free regime with the European Union would be harmful to the country’s citizens. If this actually happens, 51 percent of respondents would place the responsibility on the Georgian Dream party and its informal leader, Bidzina Ivanishvili, 13 percent would blame the European Union, and 5 percent would blame the opposition (CRRC-Georgia, accessed September 22).

Within the established deadline of August 31, the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs submitted a report to the European Commission on the alleged implementation of  EU recommendations (1tv.ge, September 1). The Georgian government, however, continues to take steps that contradict the very spirit of European integration. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze says the country is only following reasonable recommendations, but refuses to comply with “unreasonable demands” from the European Union (TV Imedi, September 2). Georgian Dream is misleading the public by portraying these requirements as if the European Union is demanding the legalization of same-sex marriage—even though the recommendations contain no mention of any such requirement.

Georgian Dream has been actively using conspiracy theories about the LGBT community in tensions with the European Union since 2024. Since traditional and conservative views prevail in Georgian society, Georgian Dream leaders believe that the theory of a global LGBT conspiracy against Georgia could be effective in mobilizing society around the Georgian Dream in its confrontation with the European Union (see EDM, July 3, 2024).

On September 4, Kobakhidze stated, “I promise that no one will be able to go to the civil registry and change their gender” (Interpressnews, September 4). On September 5, at a press conference, European Commission Spokesperson Markus Lammert, when asked whether the European Union was demanding that Georgia legalize same-sex marriage, called the claim a lie, stating:

The accusation that the European Union is punishing Georgia because of its traditional family values is simply not true. The protection, promotion, and observance of human rights lie at the core of the cooperation between Georgia and the European Union. These are values that both Georgia and the European Union share, and in this context, the EU supports democratic reforms and the protection of fundamental human rights for all—including protection from discrimination (Euroscope, September 5).

The Georgian government is still forced to take into account the will of the Georgian population on European integration despite announcing in November 2024 that it would discontinue this process, allegedly until 2028 (see EDM, December 10, 2024). On August 12, a meeting of Georgia’s government commission on EU integration was held, where members emphasized the Georgian government’s ambitious goal of preparing for EU membership by 2028 (Facebook/Georgian Government, August 12). Despite Georgian Dream imitating a desire for European integration, it is comprehensively encouraging various conspiracy theories, including LGBT-related ones, against the European Union. With the help of its satellite organizations, it is trying to include the issue of a final refusal to join the European Union on the political agenda.

The day after the government commission’s meeting, the pro-Russian organization “United Neutral Georgia”—which enjoys the patronage of Georgian Dream—came forward with an initiative to hold a plebiscite on the advisability of Georgia’s accession to the European Union. The leaders of this organization posed the question, “Does the Georgian society want to become a member of the union in which the main demand is the legalization of same-sex marriage, promotion of LGBT propaganda, giving up sovereignty and erasing the identity of Georgia?” (1tv.ge, August 13). In a widely circulated statement, the organization urges the Georgian government and Georgian Dream not to “pull the country toward a place where same-sex marriage, LGBT propaganda, gay parades, and pedophilia are considered the norm” (1tv.ge, August 13).

Eurobarometer’s latest annual public opinion poll shows that the majority of Georgian citizens see their future in the European Union. According to the research, if a referendum were held in Georgia today, 74 percent of the population would support joining the European Union. Furthermore, 80 percent believe that EU membership would bring more benefits than harm to the country (EU NeighboursEast, August 25). The European Union is reportedly the most trusted actor among the population of Georgia, with 67 percent of respondents expressing trust in it (EU NeighboursEast, August 25). According to a survey conducted by CRRC-Georgia published in August, 78 percent of respondents support EU membership. Among young people ages 18–34, the rate of support for Georgia’s EU membership is even higher at 86 percent (CRRC-Georgia, accessed September 22). The results of public opinion polls show that LGBT-related conspiracy theories, actively spread directly by the leaders of Georgian Dream and the top political leadership of Georgia, do not bear tangible fruit for their initiators at this stage. Georgian Dream has not yet succeeded in turning the Georgian population hostile to the European Union.

Georgian Dream was particularly active in using LGBT-themed conspiracy theories during the October 2024 election campaign. In an interview in 2024, Ivanishvili claimed, “LGBT propaganda could influence a person’s sexual orientation” and called LGBT propaganda the “latest weapon of conquest” (TV Imedi, October 21, 2024). In 2024, Kobakhidze argued,

According to the concept of the so-called liberals, not only a country and a nation, but even an individual should not have any stable identity. There should be no moral boundaries in a person’s personal life. This propaganda has alarming consequences both in Europe and in the United States.

He also spread false information on this topic, claiming that in the United States, “in just seven years, the number of LGBT people has tripled due to propaganda” (Radio Tavisupleba, April 25, 2024).

In 2024, Mamuka Mdinaradze, the then-leader of the parliamentary majority, who has headed Georgia’s Security Service since September 3, declared, “Today, pseudo-liberals in the world are campaigning against such terms as ‘mother’ and ‘father,’ ‘wife’ and ‘husband,’ etc. They require the introduction of the so-called gender-neutral terminology, for example, ‘parent 1’ and ‘parent 2’, etc.” Mdinaradze scared the population by declaring that the West would soon demand that Georgia remove information about gender from passports (Facebook.com/GeorgianDreamOfficial, February 29, 2024).

The development of LGBT conspiracy theories has reached its peak in recent months. On August 12, Kobakhidze claimed that the whole of Europe is in a catastrophic situation. To confirm the authenticity of his conspiracy, he cited false data about how same-sex marriages among the new generation in the EU countries have already exceeded 20 percent (Radio Tavisupleba, August 2). Ivanishvili’s closest associate and Georgian Dream’s ideologist, philosopher Zaza Shatirishvili, published an open letter on August 12, addressed to the Georgian audience. He states, “European unity, formed based on fundamental values, is collapsing, since the ideology based on Christian humanism has been replaced by an ideology based on LGBT propaganda” (Facebook/POSTV.Analytics, August 12). In the letter, he points out that the European Union is creating preconditions for the legalization of same-sex marriages in Georgia (Facebook/POSTV.Analytics, August 12).

Georgian Dream, similar to the Kremlin, positions itself as a defender of traditional lifestyles and family values in an attempt to win the support of a population to which it offers little beyond conspiracy theories. Georgian Dream leaders frequently echo Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric on issues such as the supposed LGBT conspiracy, the alleged threat of same-sex marriage, and the need to protect “family values.” The use of LGBT conspiracy theories highlights Georgian Dream’s close ties to the Kremlin, which has also actively used LGBT-related conspiracy theories in its anti-Western propaganda and promotes this practice across the entire post-Soviet space (YouTube/@CurrentTimeTV, September 1, 2023).