Georgian Parliament Speaker says country preparing legal action against BBC

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday announced that Georgia was preparing a lawsuit against the BBC, following US President Donald Trump’s recent declaration that he was filing a $10 billion suit against the broadcaster.

In his remarks, Papuashvili noted that lawyers were already working on the lawsuit against the BBC after the British broadcaster published an investigative article claiming that the Georgian authorities deployed a chemical substance dating back to World War I during protests in 2024.

“It is once again confirmed that the fairy tale they tell us about media standards, which supposedly exist in some countries, and which we, on the contrary, have seen in many examples, is an absolutely one-handed propaganda machine that is controlled by a single conglomerated union in different countries. This is once again confirmed and, among other things, strengthens our claim against the BBC”, the Speaker said.

“If I’m not mistaken, President Trump announced a $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC. As you know, we are also working on this lawsuit and will pursue the same legal avenues. There is also the option of appealing to the regulatory commission. We will use all legal mechanisms to expose the BBC’s falsifications”, he continued.

Papuashvili described the BBC’s coverage as part of a “hybrid operation” targeting Georgia, asserting that the broadcaster acted as a tool of propaganda

“Our lawyers are preparing the lawsuit. This requires careful preparation and likely the use of local, meaning British, legal assistance”, the Speaker concluded.