A Member of Parliament from “Georgian Dream,” Nino Tsilosani, calls the fact-checking organization “Myth Detector” “trolls.”
“So, ‘Myth Detector,’ that is, trolls exposed by a troll?! So should we believe the Myth Detector troll?! I am telling you that [Myth Detector] is a troll; the goals of this organization are unknown to everyone. Isn’t it your television’s goal to label someone a troll! To call a person a troll who says the truth about a BBC article and a documentary film, that it was a lie—so you call a troll a person who was laughing that for you it was important that a parrot lost its feathers,” Nino Tsilosani stated.
Representatives of “Georgian Dream” are systematically engaged in the public discreditation of independent media, journalists, and representatives of civil society, with the aim of damaging their reputation in the eyes of the public.
Tbilisi City Council member Konstantine Zarnadze of “Georgian Dream” accuses independent media outlets of “psychological terror, sowing disorder and fear.”
“It is impossible to ignore the psychological terror that opposition media carry out on a daily basis… This is no longer journalism; this is manipulation of people’s psyche. Their goal is to create a constant sense of tension, to sow disorder and fear in society, and to instill complete hopelessness about the future,” the council member said in response to reports by critical media outlets about food prices.
Representatives of “Georgian Dream” systematically engage in the public discrediting of independent media and journalists, with the aim of undermining them in the eyes of the public.
On January 12, during a public comment, Kakha Kaladze verbally insulted a journalist from the TV company TV Pirveli. The incident followed a question posed by the journalist regarding the presence at the port of Kulevi of a vessel marked as part of the so-called “shadow fleet” and the risk of secondary sanctions being imposed on the country.
The mayor’s response to the journalist’s question contained offensive statements, including accusations that the journalist was lying and attempting to mislead the public. Despite the journalist’s efforts to obtain serious answers and relevant evidence, Kaladze continued to make insulting remarks.
Such rhetoric toward critical media outlets is systemic in nature and is regularly used by representatives of “Georgian Dream,” which significantly harms the environment for journalistic activity, especially when covering issues of high public interest.
On October 4, 2025, during the local government elections (which the opposition and a large part of society consider illegitimate), numerous cases of obstruction of work, threats, and verbal and physical abuse against media representatives were recorded.
Publicly reported incidents:
- Verbal attack on journalists
- Kakha Kaladze, the candidate for mayor of Tbilisi from the Georgian Dream, called journalists “impudent”. The incident took place at the 64th polling station in Tbilisi. After voting, Kakha Kaladze was talking about the protection of freedom of speech and expression in the country. A “Formula” journalist asked him what this meant, to which he replied – “There is some politeness, there is ethics, I understand that you have neither one nor the other.”
- The president of the Georgian Dream, Mikheil Kavelashvili, called TV Pirveli journalist Ina Tsartsidze a “liar” and a representative of a “liar television.” “You, your bosses, are deceiving the youth, the society, that we are illegitimate,” Kavelashvili replied to the journalist, who was trying to get an answer from him whether US President Donald Trump had contacted him.
- Former Prime Minister of the Georgian Dream, Irakli Gharibashvili, called journalists from TV Pirveli and Formula “scoundrels” and “main fakers” at the 11th polling station in Tbilisi. His response followed questions from journalists about whether he himself was expecting to be arrested, since everyone around him is being detained.
- Cases of interference with work of journalists were reported
4. At Akhaltsikhe polling station No. 6, the chairman of the precinct commission restricted journalist Nuka Stepnadze of the publication “Samkhretis Karibche” from filming at the polling station. He told the journalist that he could only film for 10 minutes. According to the publication, the chairman of the commission only allowed the journalist to continue working after the district commission contacted him and explained the rules.
5. In Batumi, at one of the polling stations, a journalist from “TV Pirveli” journalist, Nato Gogelia, was verbally confronted by agitators from the “Georgian Dream”. They first tried to prevent him from filming by covering his camera with their hands, and then cursed at the journalist. Their irritation followed the journalist’s attempt to find out why they were standing at the polling station with lists and why they were registering voters.
On September 22, 2025, Shalva Papuashvili, Speaker of Parliament from Georgian Dream, referred to the independent online outlet Netgazeti as propaganda media.
Shalva Papuashvili shared the statement against Netgazeti on his social media page. In his post, Papuashvili attached a screenshot of a Netgazeti article in which Mikheil Kavelashvili was referred to as “Georgian Dream’s president.”
“There is no test that would show that media covering news in this manner is not propaganda. There is no test that would show that whoever pays them is not financing propaganda…” Papuashvili wrote.
Recently, Shalva Papuashvili has often attacked Netgazeti with similar posts. He made a similar statement against Netgazeti on September 9. In the archive of the Center for Media, Information, and Social Studies, his verbal attacks can also be found against the outlets Publika, On.ge, and Tabula, as well as against Gela Mtivlishvili, editor of the outlet Mtis Ambebi. Papuashvili also tried to discredit Netgazeti/Batumelebi’s imprisoned manager, Mzia Amaghlobeli, referring to her as an “inciter of violence.”
On September 21, 2025, Kakha Kaladze, the current mayor of Tbilisi and mayoral candidate from Georgian Dream, called journalists “abusers” and verbally insulted them.
“You are the first abusers, you are the ones who abuse and who try to… then you’re surprised when sometimes a microphone is hit against your head… then you wonder why.”
After this comment, a journalist asked Kaladze whether his statement was an encouragement of violence. The Georgian Dream mayoral candidate replied that he had not attempted to encourage violence and continued verbally insulting the journalists.
“This kind of politeness, generally, is taught in the family… It is clear and obvious what you represent, who you are, what you are, and that’s why you are so miserable, wretched, and degraded.”
On July 17, 2025, Givi Mikanadze, Minister of Education, Science, and Youth of the ruling Georgian Dream party, called journalists “ridiculous” and “pathetic” in response to a question about his doctoral degree.
“You’re very ridiculous, really very ridiculous — so pathetic. What diploma are you even talking about? Doctoral candidate… you can find that in any of my CVs. You’re truly ridiculous. Do you even realize how pathetic you are?” Mikanadze said.
When Mikanadze was nominated as minister, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze introduced him as a PhD from the University of Amsterdam. It was later revealed, however, that Mikanadze had not actually obtained the degree. Journalists were attempting to verify this information.
On July 17, 2025, the Minister of Education, Science, and Youth from “Georgian Dream,” Givi Mikanadze, called journalists “ridiculous” and “powerless” in response to a question regarding his doctoral degree.
“You are very ridiculous, really very ridiculous, so powerless. What diploma are you talking about? PhD candidate… you can read this in any of my CVs. You are very ridiculous. Do you know how powerless you are?” — Mikanadze stated.
When he was appointed minister, Georgian Dream’s Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, referred to him as a doctor from the University of Amsterdam. It later emerged that Mikanadze does not actually hold the degree. Journalists were attempting to verify this information.
