Pro-government TV channel in Georgia fined for bias

The Communications Commission of Georgia fined the TV channel "PosTV" for violating the law "On Broadcasting". This is the first case where the regulator imposed financial sanctions on a pro-government media outlet for failing to comply with impartiality standards.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in May, the European Parliament banned journalists from the Georgian pro-government TV channel "Imedi", which fell under British sanctions for "disinformation in the interests of Russia", from working in its Brussels headquarters for at least a year. Moldova also denied accreditation to the channels "Imedi", "PosTV", and "Rustavi 2" at the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Chișinău. The Georgian authorities accused hostile forces of withdrawing the accreditation of the three TV channels in the European Parliament.

According to the regulator, the news broadcasts of "PosTV" on June 22 and 23 contained instances of presenting news through the lens of the broadcaster's personal evaluations and violating the requirements for accuracy in information transmission, Tabula reports today.

"The law explicitly prohibits covering news and socio-political programs based on the broadcaster's personal attitude or opinion," the Communications Commission stated on its website.

The regulator also reminded that these norms guarantee the audience the right to receive an objective picture of events.

Previously, "PosTV" had already received an official written warning for a similar offense. According to Georgian legislation, repeated violations of broadcasting standards within a year give the regulator the right to impose financial sanctions. Based on this, the TV channel was fined 2,500 lari (about 900 dollars).

Until now, pro-government TV channels have only received warnings for similar offenses. At the same time, critically oriented opposition resources - TV Pirveli and Formula - have already been fined three times by the commission, Newsgeorgia reports.

In 2025, at the initiative of the "Georgian Dream", strict requirements for objectivity were introduced into the laws, and issues that were previously in the realm of self-regulation and journalistic ethics were placed under the control of the commission.

At the same time, the authorities completely banned media from receiving direct foreign funding, and for other NGOs, mandatory approval of grants with the government was introduced.

The ruling party claims that the reforms protect the information space from "external influence and radicalization". However, human rights defenders and opposition journalists call what is happening a legal mechanism of censorship and targeted pressure on independent editorial offices.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that in early August 2025, a court in Batumi sentenced the founder of the publications "Batumelebi" and "Netgazeti", Mzia Amaglobeli, to two years in prison in a case involving an attack on Batumi police chief Irakli Dgebuadze, whom she slapped.