Updated: 17.07.2025
“Georgia First” is a conservative platform that discredits liberalism and liberal values by appealing to traditional values. It portrays the West as an ideological and cultural threat, attempting to prove that it endangers the Georgian family, as well as the country’s religious and national identity. The platform seeks to depict the West and Western institutions as morally bankrupt systems driven by elite interests and, in doing so, calls into question the importance and goals of Georgia’s integration into the European Union. It portrays the West as a form of “modern colonizer,” while Western support is often framed as a Western tool used to undermine national identity. “Georgia First” regularly publishes anti-Western content that targets the European Union, NATO, and the former U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration.
The platform primarily translates speeches and writings of Western conservative authors and foreign Kremlin propagandists. For example, its Facebook page Georgia First NEWS frequently shares short videos from interviews with Kremlin-aligned figures in the West such as Jeffrey Sachs and Tucker Carlson. The page also features videos of Scott Ritter’s interviews — another Western figure considered a pillar of Kremlin propaganda.
Much of Georgia First NEWS’s longreads originates from the website europeanconservative.com, which openly aims “national-populist awakening” against the European Union and the Western establishment.
On its website, the platform regularly publishes articles by Davit Kartvelishvili, a member of “People’s Power,” a satellite party of the ruling Georgian Dream. “People’s Power” was formed in 2022 by former Georgian Dream MPs to voice the ruling party’s positions in a more radical form.
“Georgia First” has previously disseminated false and manipulative claims. Its two Facebook pages (Georgia First NEWS and საქართველო უპირველეს ყოვლისა • Georgia First) frequently sponsor content related to Tucker Carlson. Most of this sponsored material consists of interview clips, opinions, and reposted content from Carlson’s platforms.
The non-profit organization “Georgia First” was registered in Georgia’s legal entity registry in September 2022. According to the registry, the organization’s director is Vakhtang (Vato) Shakarishvili, the board chair is Nikoloz Zedgenidze, and Rati Abakelia is a board member. In 2024, Shakarishvili co-founded the public movement “Neutral Georgia” alongside Bidzina Giorgobiani, Nana Kakabadze, Gela Nikolaishvili, and Levan Nikoleishvili. This movement opposes Georgia’s accession to the EU and NATO and advocates for neutrality.
Vato Shakarishvili was a member of Tbilisi City Council from the Georgian Dream party in 2017. In 2019, he left the party along with Jaba Jishkariani, citing disagreement with the party’s stance on the appointment of judges. Nevertheless, Shakarishvili continues to appear actively on pro-government media and promotes messaging favorable to Georgian Dream. His Facebook page “Ai-Ia” has been involved in several disinformation campaigns in coordination with pro-government media outlets and Facebook accounts.
