Two NGOs claim Georgia online media being loyal to ruling party

In Georgia, during the pre-election period, the online media started to publish more critical messages with positive assessment of the activities of the "Georgian Dream" Party. This information was released by NGO "Civic Development Institute" (CDI) and the "Charter of Journalistic Ethics".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that starting from June 8, Georgia holds the pre-election campaign, and the parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 8.

The monitoring covers the period from August 31 to September 25. In September, the online news agencies have sharply increased the number of the materials, containing criticism against the "United National Movement" (UNM) Party and positive coverage of the activities of the "Georgian Dream" Party. Many of the materials were not marked as advertisements, reports the "Civic Development Institute" (CDI).

During the monitored period, TV Channels drew more attention to political parties, rather than the activities of the Georgian government, to the contracts with the previous pre-election campaign, reports the "Charter of Journalistic Ethics". Meanwhile, there is still a "problem of the imbalance of stories shown on TV." They are often based on a single source of information.

The monitoring was carried out with the support of the EU and the "United Nations on Development Issues". It will continue until late November of 2016.

Earlier, Ghiya Nodiya, the director of the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development (CIPDD), has stated till present, Georgia faces "struggle for power with the use of methods far from democratic." He has also mentioned the cases of beatings of members of the "UNM" Party, the situation with the "Rustavi-2" TV Channel, blackmail and intimidation of opposition politicians.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.