The Georgian Communications Commission found TV Company “Formula” in violation of the Law of Georgia “On Broadcasting” and imposed a fine of 2,500 GEL as a sanction.

The Commission initiated the proceedings based on its own media monitoring conducted during the month of April. The Communications Commission determined that “Formula” violated newly introduced articles of the broadcasting law that regulate content-related issues specifically, Paragraphs 1, 4, and 5 of Article 54. The Commission fined “Formula” for using phrases in its news programs such as “the head of the Georgian Dream government,” “Ivanishvili’s regime,” “the regime’s prosecutor’s office,” “the Dream’s prime minister,” and other similar terms. Additionally, it deemed the broadcast of a report about children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy without a comment from the Ministry of Health as problematic, ruling it a violation of the requirement to maintain balance.

“Given that TV Company ‘Formula’ had already received a written warning for a similar violation within the past year, the Communications Commission imposed the minimum fine of 2,500 GEL on the broadcaster in accordance with the Law of Georgia ‘On Broadcasting,'” reads the statement from the Communications Commission. “Formula,” alongside other television networks, received the initial written warning on April 8. In that instance as well, the Commission raised identical issues against the channel.

“The attempt to normalize censorship and interfere in editorial affairs is evident,” stated the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics in its assessment of the incident, expressing deep concern over this growing trend.