Big Little Lies: How Anti-European Narratives Are Manufactured in Georgia (English version)

Big Little Lies: How Anti-European Narratives Are Manufactured in Georgia

June 16, 2026

A few days ago, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared that joining the European Union would result in the complete destruction of Georgia’s agricultural sector (Source: ipn.GE).

A single, straightforward counter-question is enough to dismantle this claim: if this is true, name just one country that actually lost its agricultural sector after joining the European Union and present the official data that proves it. There is no such answer, of course, because this is not a statement of fact. It is a manufactured narrative.

Also, this statement is nothing new. Almost identical messages have been echoed for years by Russian officials, local Georgian politicians, and state-aligned propagandists alike. In this world, (almost) nothing happens by accident! What we are witnessing is a classic propaganda technique—one that during the Soviet era was classified as "Active Measures" (Активные мероприятия).

Активные мероприятия and the Mechanics of the "Big Lie"

Lavrov’s statement relies heavily on elements of the "Big Lie" technique. The essence of this method is simple yet insidious: you spread a falsehood so massive, sweeping, and categorical that the public struggles to believe anyone would have the sheer audacity to consciously fabricate something so colossal.

How the "Big Lie" Works:

• Keep It Simple: The lie must be as basic as possible. For example: "The European Union destroyed agriculture in every newly admitted member state."
• Relentless Repetition: It must be repeated frequently over a prolonged period (Below, I will show just how systematically these narratives are articulated by our so-called Georgian propagandists).
• Emotional Weaponization: It must trigger raw emotions—fear, outrage, national pride, and a deep-seated sense of victimhood.
• Friction in Fact-Checking: Verifying the actual facts must be made to feel complicated, tedious, or generally unappealing to the mainstream audience.

The Soviet and Russian Legacy

Soviet intelligence, and later the Russian security services, never viewed the "Big Lie" in isolation. Instead, they treated it as a core component of a broader concept: Active Measures (Активные мероприятия). This went far beyond conventional espionage; it encompassed:

• Systematic disinformation campaigns
• Forged documentation
• Cultivating agents of influence
• Media manipulation
• The orchestration of conspiracy theories

The KGB was especially notorious for mastering this craft. Today, modern technologies have been integrated into these exact same methods, raising them almost to the level of an art form.

Classic Example #1: For decades, the Kremlin hammered home the narrative that "The West is planning to destroy the Soviet Union"—a falsehood used to justify brutal domestic repression.

Classic Example #2: In the 1980s, the KGB orchestrated a campaign claiming that HIV/AIDS was manufactured in an American military laboratory (That reminds us, Georgians, of the ongoing disinformation targeting the Lugar Laboratory in Tbilisi).

This approach is sometimes referred to by security analysts as the "Firehose of Falsehood" - a method in which a high volume of lies is spread rapidly across multiple channels, often contradicting one another and is explicitly designed to exhaust the public until they can no longer distinguish truth from fiction.

The Lavrov Case Study

In this context, Lavrov’s recent statement is highly revealing because several propaganda techniques are working simultaneously:

1. The Big Lie: "Any agricultural country that joined the EU lost its agriculture." Note the absolute, uncompromising wording ("any," "all").
2. The Fear Narrative: "Joining the EU means the destruction of your farmers."
3. False Generalization: Sweeping completely different countries into a single category based on a few handpicked stereotypes.
4. The Victimhood Narrative: "Large states only enrich themselves at the expense of small countries."

In short, Lavrov’s statement is a textbook disinformation narrative built on the propaganda pillars of the Big Lie, fear mobilization, and false generalizations.

The Little Ladies of the Big Lie: Domestic Echoes

Lavrov’s rhetoric and the corresponding messages circulating inside Georgia belong to the exact same propaganda meta-narrative. As noted above, one of the defining features of the Big Lie technique is that it requires local actors to repeat it ad nauseam over years and decades.

Why do they keep recycling the same script?

• Because factual accuracy is entirely secondary.
• The goal is to trigger raw emotion.
• The objective is to breed systemic distrust toward the European Union.
• The intent is to completely blur and obscure viable alternatives.

As an ordinary citizen of Georgia, it is particularly shameful to watch these Russian propaganda messages parroted by an individual who calls himself the "Speaker of the Parliament." Consider what Shalva Papuashvili stated in December 2024 on the airwaves of Rustavi 2:

"Just look at the wine sector. If we were to join today, consider the wine sector collapsed." (Source:sakartvelosambebi.ge)

In the vocabulary of political communication, this is frequently termed an "economic fear narrative" or the "myth of losing economic sovereignty."

Remarkably, this narrative in Georgia hasn't been limited to wine or general agriculture. Identical doom-and-gloom messages have been systematically spread for years regarding:

• The hazelnut industry
• Dairy products
• Migration ("Europe will force us to resettle waves of migrants") — Myth Detector
• The Baltic states ("The EU completely destroyed their agriculture") — Myth Detector

Below is a brief chronology tracking how anti-European economic narratives developed in Georgia between 2014 and 2026. Notice how their core message has barely changed—only the specific topics rotate (wine, hazelnuts, migration, sanctions).

Each of these narratives can be easily debunked using the Myth Detector website (mythdetector.com). A huge thank you to their team, which continues to do invaluable work (Fact-Checking Database).

Chronology of Anti-EU Economic Narratives in Georgia (2014–2026)

Year	Propaganda Statement	Actual Outcome
2014	"The EU does not need Georgian products."	Georgian exports to the EU experience steady growth.
2016	"European standards will completely destroy local farmers."	Trade and export volumes continue to rise.
2024	"The wine sector will collapse [upon EU integration]." — Papuashvili	Wine exports to the EU approach historic, near-record levels.
2026	Lavrov: "The EU will destroy agriculture."	The real-world experience of Poland and the Baltic states proves the exact opposite.

 

How to Protect Yourself

The main purpose of counter-propaganda is not simply to debunk one specific lie. Its real purpose is to give people an analytical tool that helps them recognize manipulation on their own the next time it appears. If a message contains absolute words such as "everyone," "any," or "always," relies on fear triggers like "destruction," "collapse," or "the end," and offers an extremely simple explanation for a highly complex issue, you must stop and think.

You can protect yourself by asking three simple questions:

1. "Any?" "Everyone?" Is this the language of empirical facts or the language of manufactured fear?
2. What happens to this claim when we check dry facts instead of reacting to raw emotion?
3. Who benefits from this fear: you, or those who want to slow down your European future?

There is one more important rule: recognize the method of manipulation before the next wave arrives. In the coming years, you will hear the exact same formula applied to other sectors as well. You will be told that European regulations will damage tourism, raise energy costs, or erase national traditions. The specific topic will change, but the underlying formula will not. Once you recognize the formula, the lie becomes weaker before it even reaches you.

 

Little Big Numbers: The European Reality

This analysis forms the first part of my first blog post, where I map out the propaganda methods Russia deploys against us. In the second part, published as a separate blog, I will use hard data to systematically demonstrate the absolute falsehood of the claims spread by Russian and local propagandists.

However, a glance at just one or two numerical examples makes a reality that should already be obvious even clearer: the European Union wants highly developed economies among its members—and it invests serious resources and effort to make that happen.

The table below illustrates how Poland's agricultural sector flourished after the country joined the EU in 2004. Backed by over €80 billion in targeted EU support and active structural reforms, Poland increased its agro-exports tenfold (10x), tripled its agricultural productivity (3x), and today, each Polish citizen is four times (4x) wealthier.

Poland’s Agricultural Transformation (Post-EU Accession)

Indicator	2004	2023/24
Agro-Exports	€5 Billion	€50+ Billion
GDP per Capita	$6,700	$28,000
EU Rural Development Funding	0	€80+ Billion
Agricultural Productivity Index	100	250–300+

 

Furthermore, look at the immense financial backing our friendly regional allies received after joining the EU, dedicated exclusively to agricultural and rural development:

EU Agriculture & Rural Development Funds Received (2004–2023)

• Poland: €80+ Billion
• Lithuania: €17 Billion
• Latvia: €10 Billion
• Estonia: €8 Billion

Conclusion

The ultimate success of propaganda does not rely on convincing everyone to believe every single lie. Rather, its success begins the moment people stop trying to find out what the truth actually is.

This is precisely why the exact same anti-European narratives have been kept on life support in Georgia for more than a decade. The specific topic shifts seamlessly—from wine and agriculture to migration and international sanctions—but the central message remains completely unaltered: "The West is a threat, development is impossible, and there is no alternative."

History, however, tells us the exact opposite.

For Georgia, the West represents far more than economic prosperity and institutional democracy. It is an idea—one conceived in ancient Greece, and one of which Georgia has always been an intrinsic part: sometimes physically, and always in our aspirations. Returning to that European family is the true, authentic "Georgian Dream"—to return to where we have always belonged!

P.S. If anyone doubts my final sentences, they should take a look at the maps of the ancient Greeks, where the geographical border of Europe was drawn right through the territory of modern Georgia, along the Phasis (Rioni) River.

P.P.S. On this issue, see also my recent commentary on Formula TV with Irakli Kiknavelidze.