State Security Service launches sabotage investigation into foreign-led disinformation campaign targeting Georgia’s national interests

The State Security Department of the State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) has launched an investigation under the charge of sabotage regarding a foreign-directed and locally supported smear campaign operating to the detriment of Georgia’s national interests.

According to the agency, the case concerns the targeted dissemination of defamatory content across various social media platforms using foreign-registered and operated bot accounts, aimed at undermining Georgia’s economic interests.

“The objective of the campaign is to spread disinformation to fabricate a false perception that an inhospitable environment exists in Georgia for tourists arriving from the Russian Federation. At this stage, it has been established that fake accounts registered on the social media platform X were posting false information on various topics. Specifically, it was alleged that Georgian citizens were abandoning Russian tourists in forests, or deliberately contaminating food ordered by them in restaurants, among other assertions. Timed at strategic intervals, this fake content was then amplified by a foreign-registered online news outlet with millions of viewers.

The investigation has been launched under Article 318 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which concerns the disruption of normal operations or the damage and destruction of state enterprises or other critical infrastructure, with the intent to undermine Georgia’s state interests. The crime carries a penalty of up to four years’ imprisonment.

Operational and investigative measures provided for by law are currently underway to identify the organisers, participants, potential funding sources, distribution mechanisms, and objectives of this disinformation campaign. The State Security Service continues its work to ensure the timely detection and prevention of threats arising from such disinformation campaigns; any action directed by external or internal forces aimed at encroaching upon Georgia’s national interests, destabilising state institutions, violating the constitutional order, or damaging national security will be met with a proportionate legal response,” the official statement reads.