Georgia’s State Security Service has opened a criminal investigation into what it calls a foreign disinformation effort aimed at deterring Russian visitors. In the Georgia Russian tourist disinformation probe, the agency alleges that fake accounts spread claims that the country was unsafe and hostile to Russian travelers, with potential damage to tourism and the wider economy.
The investigation is being conducted on suspicion of sabotage. A conviction under the cited provision can bring a prison term of up to four years, according to reporting by The Record and News.az.
The core allegation remains just that. The security service has not publicly identified the foreign country it says was involved, named the online outlet that allegedly amplified the material, or released evidence linking a government, organization, or specific people to the operation.
What claims prompted Georgia’s investigation?
According to the security service, accounts on X published fabricated stories alleging mistreatment of Russian tourists in Georgia. The purported incidents included restaurant workers contaminating food and tour guides abandoning visitors in remote forest areas.
Officials said the accounts were operated from abroad, with support inside Georgia, and that their posts were then picked up in a coordinated way by a foreign online publication with an audience in the millions. News.az reported that investigators are seeking to establish who organized and financed the alleged campaign, as well as who commissioned it.
Screenshots of the posts were later circulated by Mash, a Russian Telegram channel with more than 3 million subscribers, The Record reported, citing Georgian outlet Paper Kartuli. That does not verify the underlying accounts or their claims. The Record said the authenticity of the alleged posts had not been independently confirmed.
What does the probe establish so far?
It establishes that Georgia’s security service has opened a sabotage case and believes an organized influence operation targeted its tourism sector. It does not establish who ran the alleged operation, whether a foreign state directed it, or whether the individual posts were authentic.
That missing attribution is not a technical footnote. It is the difference between reporting an investigation and declaring a culprit. Georgian authorities have not said that Russia was behind the activity, despite the campaign’s apparent focus on Russian tourists.
The claimed economic motive has historical context. In 2019, Russia suspended flights to Georgia and told Russian tourists to leave amid worsening tensions, prompting reported cancellations that hurt tourism businesses, according to Eurasianet. That episode shows the sector’s exposure to political conflict between the two countries; it does not identify the authors of the newly alleged online campaign.
For now, Georgia’s case rests on the security service’s account of fake X profiles, alleged amplification and claimed intent. The agency has said it is trying to trace the organizers, funders and commissioners. Until it publishes supporting evidence or identifies suspects, the foreign-operation claim remains unproven in public.
This story draws on original reporting from The Record.
