The Chair of Parliament from “Georgian Dream,” Shalva Papuashvili, has once again engaged in discrediting independent online media, first on the air of TV company “Imedi,” and later on his personal social media page.
On Imedi’s broadcast, Papuashvili referred to the publication “Publika” as a “so-called media outlet that is in reality an instrument of propaganda.”
Shalva Papuashvili attempted to discredit independent media in the context of organizations being registered abroad.
Along with “Publika,” he mentioned other media outlets in the same context, specifically on.ge and “Tabula.”
Quotes discrediting “Publika” by the Chair of Parliament from “Georgian Dream” were published as separate Facebook cards, including by TV company “Imedi.” Subsequently, the broadcaster dedicated separate reports to this topic in the first block of various news programs.
The same narrative was once again spread by Shalva Papuashvili via his own social media, where this time the names of “Publika” editors Lika Zakashvili and Zurab Vardiashvili were mentioned on the organization’s registration document.
High-ranking officials of “Georgian Dream” are actively attempting to discredit independent media.
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 20, Pro-Government TV”Imedi” published a clip on its social media page taken from a monologue by TV Pirveli journalist Vika Bukia, with the caption: “The grammatical ‘education’ of a propagandist.”
Vika Bukia is a journalist known for her critical stance toward “Georgian Dream.” It is for this reason that the pro-government TV station “Imedi” singled out an excerpt from the journalist’s monologue and, for the purpose of discrediting her, labeled her a “propagandist.”
On January 12, the POSTV program “Analytica” aired a report titled “The Criminal Chronology of Criminal Mzia Amaghlobeli,” which employs stigmatizing and discrediting language against journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, the founder of the publications Batumelebi and Netgazeti.
The report is built on a narrative suggesting that the ongoing protest processes in the country are managed by the so-called “Global War Party.” In this context, emphasis is placed on alleged violence by protesters against the police. The segment reinforces this narrative by portraying Mzia Amaghlobeli as “one of the figures in a script drafted by the Global War Party.” Furthermore, it uses an incident involving a police officer to solidify her stigmatization, depicting her as an assailant and an aggressor against law enforcement. The report ignores the broader context and other significant circumstances.
Overall, the segment creates a sharply biased narrative in which the police are cast in the role of the victim, while the journalist is presented as a figure posing a threat to society. Such rhetoric is part of a systemic trend of discredit against Mzia Amaghlobeli and facilitates the deliberate manipulation of public opinion against her.
On January 12, 2025, Mzia Amaghlobeli was arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer for slapping the head of the Batumi Police, Irakli Dgebuadze. On August 6, 2025, the court sentenced her to two years in prison, while the charge was reclassified from “assault on a police officer” to “resistance, threat, or violence against a protector of public order.” Numerous international and local organizations have condemned Amaghlobeli’s imprisonment and called for her release. She is considered a political prisoner.
Gia Gachechiladze, a supporter of “Georgian Dream” and host of the show “Ai Ucnobi” referred to Mzia Amaghlobel, founder of Netgazeti/Batumelebi and journalist, using insulting epithets.
“I would also punch Mzia Amaghlobeli and throw her out; she pretends to be a media luminary, not a Sakharov Prize winner, but just an ordinary abuser,” said Gia Gachechiladze. Gachechiladze is known for making offensive statements against independent non-governmental organizations and journalists.
Mzia Amaghlobeli was first detained administratively on January 11, 2025, and a few hours later, on January 12, was taken into criminal custody. On August 6, 2025, the Batumi City Court sentenced the journalist to two years in prison, a decision later upheld by the Kutaisi Court of Appeal.
On December 14, 2025, a segment aired on the TV program Imedi Weekly on the television company Imedi, accusing independent Georgian media and non-governmental organizations of advancing foreign countries’ interests and engaging in so-called “hybrid warfare.”
The segment addressed a journalistic investigatigation published by the BBC, which reported that during the dispersal of protests in Georgia in November–December 2024, law enforcement allegedly used the toxic chemical compound bromobenzyl cyanide (“Camite”), which, according to the BBC investigation, was mixed into water cannons.
In the Imedi Weekly segment, the BBC investigation is presented as part of a pre-planned and coordinated campaign, which, according to the segment’s authors, involved “propaganda media networks” and “influence agents.” The program described the BBC’s journalistic investigation as a “continuation of hybrid warfare.” Particular attention in the segment was given to the so-called “media network,” which pro-government media accused of advancing foreign interests, as well as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, whose journalistic materials published in January 2025 regarding alleged poisoning incidents were interpreted as if they were deliberately preparing the ground for subsequent BBC investigative reporting.
A coalition of 22 independent media organizations united in August 2024 under the initiative “Sinatle Media” to collect financial resources and continue their work. The cooperation among these media organizations is linked to restrictive legislative regulations imposed on independent media and the NGO sector. Against a backdrop of strong public support and solidarity, Sinatle Media and its member organizations have repeatedly been targets of public criticism and attempts at discreditation by the “Georgian Dream” party.
On 30 November 2025, the pro-government television station Imedi aired yet another report aimed at discrediting the “Light Media” platform.
The title of the segment broadcast on Imedi resembled that of a report called “Foreign Intelligence Services’ Media Network,” which aired on 23 November. In that earlier report, without presenting any evidence, it was repeatedly claimed that various media outlets were operating in the interests of “foreign intelligence services,” allegedly receiving 17,434,381 million GEL in funding for this purpose.
The Speaker of Parliament from the Georgian Dream party, Shalva Papuashvili, spoke about so-called “black money,” accusing independent media outlets of supposedly acting according to a “plan drafted by foreign intelligence services,” alongside other similar schemes, and of opposing “national interest” projects initiated by Georgian Dream.
“Light Media” is a coalition of 22 independent online media outlets, including:
“Light Media” was formed after legislative regulations adopted by Georgian Dream placed media organizations in a difficult situation. Specifically, laws passed in the spring restrict media outlets from receiving grants, label them as organizations “carrying out the interests of a foreign power,” and expose them to the risk of criminal prosecution. The media outlets decided to unite and appeal to the public for financial support.
On November 24, the Speaker of Parliament from “Georgian Dream,” Shalva Papuashvili, issued a statement against “Radio Liberty” and said that the media outlet was created by the “Central Intelligence Agency.” He also called the journalists “propagandists.”
“Radio Liberty is media?! It was created by the Central Intelligence Agency. It is an organization created by an intelligence service, funded by the U.S. budget. The current U.S. government stopped its funding because it said they are a tool of propaganda.”
At the same press conference, Papuashvili spoke in detail about a report aired on the pro-government channel “Imedi,” against “Light Media.” According to Papuashvili, independent online media “put criminal energy into their work and commit criminal offenses, including tax evasion and other types of crimes.”
On November 24, the Speaker of Parliament from “Georgian Dream,” Shalva Papuashvili, accused the online media outlet “Mtis Ambebi” of hiding finances. He said that donors, by funding “Mtis Ambebi,” are financing xenophobia. This is how Shalva Papuashvili responded to a question from a pro-government television station about “Mtis Ambebi.” The journalist was asking Papuashvili about “Mtis Ambebi’s” coverage of the Eagle Hills project. Eagle Hills has been presented by the “Georgian Dream” government as an unprecedented, multimillion-dollar project.
Shalva Papuashvili frequently makes disinformative statements against independent online media. Among them, he actively refers to “Mtis Ambebi,” “Netgazeti/Batumelebi,” and “Publika” in a negative context.
