Georgian Parliament Speaker criticises RSF report on Ivanishvili, calls it propaganda tool of “Deep State”

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday dismissed the latest report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which listed Bidzina Ivanishvili,the founder and Honorary Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, among “predators of press freedom”, as unconvincing and politically motivated.

In his remarks, Papuashvili recalled that RSF previously labeled “journalist” Nika Gvaramia, now the opposition leader, as imprisoned for his professional work, a claim later challenged by the European Court of Human Rights for bias, calling into question RSF’s credibility.

He stressed that Georgia had a pluralistic media environment, noting the existence of opposition party-owned media outlets.

“In Georgia, opposition parties operate their own media, which they fund directly - sometimes cash is even physically delivered. Additionally, Brussels-funded propaganda media exists here. Take ‘Netgazeti’ - it functions as a propaganda tool for failed protests”, the Speaker noted.

He further argued that RSF ignores the funding of American intelligence-backed media, like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, by EU institutions.

“In central Europe, EU funds support propaganda instruments created by US intelligence. When an organisation reporting on media freedom ignores this, it shows it is part of the deep state. What it cannot control, it deems unacceptable, and such organisations are then used to conduct propaganda campaigns”, Papuashvili said.

Regarding Ivanishvili, he added that they even failed to verify or overlooked the fact that he is the Honorary Chair of the ruling party.

“Listing him as politically active is an absurdity based on outdated information - it appears to have been a simple task to include his name”, the Speaker concluded.