The renewed military conflict following the Hamas attack on Israel has given new impetus to the anti-Western rhetoric of the openly pro-Russian far-right groups. The Conservative Movement/Alt-Info used the Israel-Hamas conflict to portray the West as an untrustworthy partner and the USA as an instigator of conflicts, indicating that Israel is the main priority for the US now, while international support for Ukraine is decreasing.  

On October 10, 2023, in the Realpolitika programme of the Alt-Info TV company, Zura Makharadze, the leader of Conservative Movement/Alt-Info, noted that the situation in Ukraine was becoming increasingly critical against the background of the war raging in Israel: "In short, I would be very worried if I were in Zelensky's place. Ukraine’s “hero comedy actor” has disappeared from all news channels and analytics. It has become a priority for the USA to support Israel instead of helping Ukraine now."  With this statement, the far-right leader tried to portray Ukraine as a country abandoned by the Western partners. This narrative is integrated with the idea that Georgia, like Ukraine, will be alone in the event of a Russian attack. This assertion contributes to the strengthening of Euroscepticism, anti-American attitudes and nihilism and is an important informational tool of the pro-Kremlin campaign, which for years has been trying to create a myth of Russia's influences and invincibility in the region. Such disinformation needs to be paid attention as it is behind the widespread propaganda message that says: "Peaceful and close relations with Russia are necessary, since Georgia will not have a supporter in case of confrontation with it."

In Georgia, as a rule, far-right actors develop anti-American rhetoric along with pro-Russian sentiments. Their propaganda media usually use methods of exaggerating and demonizing the real facts. In this context, the statement made by Giorgi Papunashvili, an active member of the Conservative Movement/Alt-Info, in the Comment of the Day programme on October 9 is noteworthy, where he reviewed the Israel-Hamas conflict as a disturbing signal for Georgia and tried to spread an opinion that the US, as a strategic partner, was unreliable and dysfunctional. "What is happening now in Israel should be a signal for us. When you partner with a geopolitical power that is too far away from you, you thus attract natural enemies in the region. Our ally is across the ocean. We pursue their interest, but if anything happens here tomorrow, it will be impossible for the collective West to provide basic military logistics."

 

Shota Martinenko, the leader of the Conservative Movement/Alt-Info, assessed the Hamas military attack on Israel as a consolidation of anti-American forces in Islamic countries and an event directed against the Western hegemony. He tried to reinforce the narrative that a new geopolitical agenda was emerging in the world, where Islamic countries were focusing on America's geopolitical counterbalance - Iran, China and Russia. "The task of Hamas was to provoke a tough response from Israel and through it to consolidate the anti-American position of the Islamic countries, and as we can see, they have succeeded." His statement indirectly serves to demonize the US and, accordingly, presents a partnership with it as an unfavourable geopolitical situation.

In general, the anti-American rhetoric of the far-right groups, which has intensified in the background of the Israel-Hamas military conflict, portrays the West as an unreliable partner, focuses on the fear of war and portrays Russia as the guarantor of Georgia's security, which directly opposes Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations and aims to incite irrational fears in society.