Year: 2025
Author: Zachary Fabos, Researcher
The study explores the apparent paradox in Georgia where many citizens simultaneously support EU integration and the ruling Georgian Dream party, despite the party’s anti-Western rhetoric and actions. Its purpose is to analyze how anti-Western and pro-government narratives on Facebook may help sustain this cognitive dissonance by framing political discourse around domestic and moral issues rather than EU policy.
The research is based on a social media monitoring project analyzing 2,261 posts published between November 29, 2024, and May 31, 2025, from 16 selected Facebook pages and groups associated with anti-Western content. Using content analysis, the study categorized posts by theme, tone, and engagement levels, examining how narratives target protests, opposition figures, Western actors, and domestic politics.
The blog was prepared within the project “Countering Anti-Democratic Propaganda Through Engagement,” implemented by CRRC-Georgia with the support of the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA).
