Georgia threatens to fine media outlets for refusing to show ads with the consequences of the war in Ukraine
The opposition Georgian TV channels Formula, Mtavari and TV Pirveli refused to broadcast pre-election advertising of the ruling party “Georgian Dream”, which uses footage of destroyed Ukrainian cities. As a result, they face fines. This was announced in a joint statement of TV channels published by NewsGeorgia.
On September 26, the ruling party presented a series of promotional materials — posters and videos that call on voters to “choose peace” and reject “war.” In these materials, shots of destroyed Ukrainian cities affected by Russian aggression are compared with peaceful images of Georgia: churches, parks and new buses.
“The government controlled by Ivanishvili puts us in front of a choice – either we provide air for these videos, or we are fined huge sums, which may lead to the termination of the TV channels.” – says the statement.
Opposition media harshly criticize these videos, calling them “Russian propaganda” and “an insult to the Ukrainian people.” They also agree with the EU ambassador to Georgia, who publicly condemned the ad as “shameful and unacceptable”.
Formula, Mtavari and TV Pirveli turned to human rights organizations and diplomatic missions of Western countries for support. According to Georgian legislation, during the pre-election period, TV channels are obliged to allocate free air time for all parties represented in the parliament, in particular, a minimum of 7.5 minutes every three hours of air time.
This is not the first case of such a conflict: in September, these TV channels were already fined for refusing to broadcast another commercial from “Georgian Dream”, which featured Georgian activists and representatives of civil society with the slogan “Say no to the moral degeneration of society”.
