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Month: September 2025
Salome Zourabichvili on media freedom
Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zourabichvili, told the Warsaw Security Forum that there are fears the country’s last opposition channels may be forced off air. She added that it was vital to support the fight against disinformation, calling it a battle against a common enemy.
In just the spring session of 2025, the ruling Georgian Dream party rushed through five legislative amendments that significantly restrict media activity and freedom of speech.
The laws effectively ban outlets funded from abroad, increase state control over the media, and allow for the punishment of journalists for expressing critical views.
Salome Zourabichvili:
“There are concerns that the last opposition channels in Georgia will be silenced. The first targets have been regional journalists. For example, Mzia Amaghlobeli, a reporter who was arrested after slapping a policeman who had spat in her face.
She spent eight months in pre-trial detention and was then sentenced to two years in prison. She is one of the bravest journalists in the region. We desperately need such journalists to win information battles. Right now we cannot win, because all resources, NGOs and official media outlets are under constant attack. That is why we are forced to rely on social media, including TikTok.
We cannot win this fight alone. This is our common struggle. Only the European Union and European countries can develop real strategies to counter disinformation, which Russia has long deployed. It all began with Soviet propaganda. Let us not forget that Putin is not a military leader but a KGB chief. To deal with him, we must unite our efforts. This is our common struggle against a common enemy.”
Salome Zourabichvili on media freedom
YouTube, owned by Google, has agreed to pay former U.S. President Donald Trump $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit related to the suspension of his account following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots. While Trump’s YouTube channel was not permanently deleted, he was banned from uploading new videos. His full access was only restored in 2023, Azernews reports.