Three opposition media outlets have refused to air the political ad of the ruling party, which contrasts the war-torn Ukraine and the peace Georgian Dream promises. Media outlets that are deemed to be more oppositional, such as Mtavari TV and TV Pirveli will face heavy fines if they do not air the ad.
“The Ivanishvili-controlled government is putting us in a dilemma – either we broadcast these videos or face heavy fines, which could lead to the suspension of our channels’ operations,” said the joint statement of Mtavari TV, Formula TV and TV Pirveli, issued on October 5 accusing the GD of exploiting the tragedy of the Ukrainian people for its political campaign.
The controversial banners of the GD, now adapted as video clips, are based on the same principle. On one side, images of war-torn Ukraine are shown with crossed electoral numbers for four opposition parties that are likely to enter Parliament – Coalition for Change (4); Unity-UNM (5); Strong Georgia (9); and Gakharia’s For Georgia (25). The banners were displayed all over the capital. The GD has now used them to create video clips for the media. The ad was aired by pro-government TV channels POSTV, Rustavi 2, Imedi and Rustavi 2, as well as Georgian Public Broadcaster, while three media outlets with a strong opposition bent refused to air it.
“Despite the heavy fines imposed on critical channels by the authorities, we have no intentions of supporting, even in an indirect way, the Russian propaganda about the Georgian Dream, or the mockery against the Ukrainian people,” said the statement of three opposition-leaning news outlets. They called on the international community, Western diplomats in Georgia, civil societies, and the Public Advocate to respond “appropriately”, to GD’s action, and to support critical media regarding this case, saying that it “transcends politics” and
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemned the GD’s banners, saying it was “inacceptable” to use Russia’s war on Ukraine as a campaign tool. Pawel Herczynski – the European Union Ambassador in Georgia – also condemned the banners. He called them “outrageous”, “shameful” and “disgusting”.
Media Advocacy Coalition is a local CSO that also denounced GD’s anti Ukrainian propaganda. It said the GD “exploits tragedy of the Ukrainian population for political gain.” They expressed solidarity with specific media outlets that were targeted for not airing this ad. The organization said that the ruling party’s demand that media outlets run such an ad was “a significant infringement of media freedom and ethical reporting.” It also noted the threat of heavy penalties as a “concerning strategy” to coerce media into adopting a narrative which is fundamentally incompatible and incompatible with democratic principles and human rights. The organization also stated: “The intense media pressure reflects a worrying trend of growing authoritarianism in Georgia and a disregard for democratic values.”
The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics also supported the opposition media’s refusal of broadcasting the GD’s ad. The Charter asked the Communications Commission to not require media outlets air the ruling party’s video campaign, which, according to the Charter, “echoes Kremlin messages, insults dignity of the Ukrainians and Georgians, and undermines historic friendship between both nations.”
Transparency International-Georgia, another watchdog, also supported the critical outlets. In a statement released on October 6, TI-Georgia stated that this was not the first instance in which the ruling party has used tricks that are unacceptable and incited violence against a certain group. It also called on Georgia’s Communications Commission to not interfere with the functioning of the media or support the ruling party propaganda.
On October 6, the local CSO Mediaombudsman released the first interim report about the activities of the Communications Commission. According to the report “the ruling Georgian Dream Party is initiating lawsuits and demanding to punish the media on the pretext that they have violated electoral legislation.”
The government has targeted the critical media in the run up to the elections. Three outlets that lean towards the opposition have already been fined because they did not air another GD ad. It displayed photos of civil society members (who were not political figures) against a background of “Say no moral degradation of society”. The watchdog deemed the fines against media “unfair”, because they were forced to air an ad depicting non-electoral people in a “extremely unethical and unfair context”. Each was fined GEL 5 000 (about USD 1830).
The Communications Commission is yet to decide on fines for the new case against media for GD’s anti-Ukrainian ad.
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