Twenty-two online media outlets are filing a complaint with the self-regulatory body against the propagandistic, pro-government TV channel “Imedi” over a disinformation segment aired on November 23 and are demanding a retraction of the false information disseminated by the television company.
Below is the online media outlets’ statement in full:
“For journalists who stand for freedom and professional standards, Georgia’s political environment has never been tolerant, but what ‘Georgian Dream’ and its merged propaganda machines have been doing in recent times exceeds all legal and ethical boundaries.
We have heard false and baseless accusations many times before – the coalition of independent online media has once again become a target of the government.
The propagandistic outlet ‘Imedi’ labels representatives of the free online media as ‘agents’ and ‘anti-Georgian’ publications.
With an absurd cascade of fabricated, unrelated, and invented stories and lies, it attacks outlets whose professionalism, high credibility, and reputation have never been in question.
The government is troubled by questions raised on issues of public importance related to the ‘Eagle Hills’ project and the higher education reform.
It wants to ensure that the media can no longer cover developments in the country, ongoing protests, the political crisis, corruption scandals involving high-ranking officials, human rights violations, severe social problems, and so on. This is why they are trying to discredit independent outlets and create an environment in which our existence becomes impossible.
The coalition of independent online media ‘Light Media’has become a target of ‘Georgian Dream’ because of the high level of public support and solidarity we have received.
With public support, during the three-month campaign, 22 online media outlets have already received nearly 100,000 GEL in donations. With this funding, we have been able to retain our offices and cover associated costs, pay the necessary fees for the functioning of our websites, and more. Every word of solidarity and every lari contributed by citizens is precious and encouraging for us.
Due to the segment prepared by TV channel ‘Imedi,’ in which Russian disinformation narratives are intertwined with obvious lies hastily crafted by local propagandists, we are collectively appealing to the self-regulatory body and demanding a retraction of the false information aired in the segment. We also demand live airtime to be given the opportunity to respond to these absurd accusations.
We, free journalists, stand together and will continue to perform our professional duties with integrity so that society retains its right to make informed decisions.”