This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Amid protests in Georgia, reports say a “huge queue” of people wishing to leave for Russia has formed at the only checkpoint across the Georgian-Russian border. Like, Georgians are running away from protests and “color revolutions” to Russia. The authors of the messages add a screenshot from the electronic map, where you can supposedly see “live traffic”. This is manipulation.

The Insider project specialists investigated the case and found out that there really was a queue of people on the Georgian-Russian border, it was formed on March 5, while the protests began on March 6. The day before, the checkpoint was closed due to bad weather and the danger of avalanches, and it was opened only on the evening of March 7. In the screenshot, you can see that the crowd was in two directions, that is, from Georgia to Russia and vice versa. Analysts explain that it was this situation that caused a large number of people on the Georgian-Russian border, but the propagandists distorted everything in their own way.

The public of Georgia actively opposes the adoption in the first reading of the law “On the transparency of foreign influence”, called the “Russian law”. It is considered an analogue of the notorious ban on “foreign agents” in Russia, which actually suppressed the already weak voices of the opposition and made it impossible for international monitoring missions to be present inside the country. The law, adopted by the Georgian Parliament on March 7, 2023, provides for the creation of a register of “agents of foreign influence”. The authorities will create a special open database of organizations and individuals if the share of foreign investments in their activities is at least 20%. It is noteworthy that the voting continued in violation of the rules of parliament and without public discussion.

We recall that Detector Media analyzed messages aimed at discrediting the protest movement in Georgia.