What Is in Store for Georgia's Private Media in 2022?

Maintaining a free press is an essential element of safeguarding freedom for the citizens of any country, and the citizens of Georgia saw 2021 bring many challenges to their free press. While the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 saw a great rise in independent media within Georgia, the current landscape is seeing private media in Georgia face a variety of serious challenges from the government.

Notable independent media organizations like Rustavi 2 have faced legal trouble and even violence since their inception. Today, private media organizations like Rustavi 2 and privately owned FormulaTV are under significant pressure from the government for their critical coverage. The Georgian government maintains control over many nominally private TV channels and strictly controls any political content.

The Current Situation for Journalists in Georgia

Georgian journalists of all kinds face significant difficulty and even danger. The government maintains significant control over discourse within the press and routinely leverages its power against those with critical voices. Despite this, the free press of Georgia continues to press on. Among the actions taken against journalists have been many cases of illegal wiretapping. A significant information leak in September 2021 revealed the supposed surveillance of independent journalists by the government. The data leak included supposedly wiretapped recordings of these journalists. Many journalists have come forward to verify the authenticity of the recorded conversations.

The free press of Georgia is regularly vilified by representatives throughout the government. They are portrayed as enemies of the Georgian people. Most independent media organizations have been accused by the government of being under the control of opposition parties, in the same sense that the government controls many media outlets.

FormulaTV Owner David Kezerashvili

In addition to increased violence against journalists, 2021 saw the expanded use of attempts to silence private media and significant figures in the free press. There have been multiple examples of criminal charges against leaders and shareholders within independent media organizations that many contend are purely political in nature.

One such case has been that of David Kezerashvili, majority shareholder and founder of FormulaTV. This media outlet has fallen under constant fire for its critical reporting of the ruling government. The Georgian government has allegedly used many tactics in the past in an attempt to gain control over independent media outlets.

FormulaTV is far from the first such outlet to face this kind of challenge, with key individuals from TV Pirveli and Mtavari Arkhi TV facing the same challenges of political influence.

Increase of Violence Against Independent Media in 2021

While there was no direct use of force by the government against independent media, many blame government rhetoric for leading to many incidents involving violence against journalists. Of particular note are the events of July 5^th and 6^th, 2021. In total, 53 journalists from 16 separate media outlets were injured during the events, along with significant equipment damage.

This violence took place at the LGBTQ+ March for Dignity, an event that was known to be a potential target for violent groups. Despite this, authorities did not respond to requests for additional protection. Many individuals within these violent groups appear to be specifically targeting the press.

Many within the free press place the blame for this on government rhetoric against private media. This rhetoric regularly includes propaganda that accuses the free press of degenerating Georgian values. The continuous onslaught of this rhetoric is absorbed by these kinds of antagonistic groups, eventually culminating in targeted violence against journalists.

Not only do journalists face an increased risk of violence, they often receive no justice. While some individuals from the violent groups were arrested at the time of the attacks, there have been no charges brought against organizers or leaders.

The events of July 5^th and July 6^th were only the largest individual examples of this violence, which was prevalent throughout 2021. The year saw many journalists and crew of the free press physically and verbally abused. To date, the government continues to take no action to stem this ongoing threat against independent journalists.

Georgia's Media Landscape in 2022 and Beyond

It is clear that the Georgian free press experienced a series of events in 2021 that set the stage for a difficult 2022. These incidents included an increase in rhetoric, violence, and political charges. Already in 2018, a Freedom House report titled "Freedom on the Net" concluded that Georgia was classified as "not free." This was due to significant changes in social media legislation and media content restrictions. The recent events in Russia during the Ukrainian war highlight the importance of "Freedom on the Net" and freedom of expression. It remains to be seen whether this will result in a positive change in the Georgian media landscape.

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