ISFED: Ruling Party-Linked Media Outlets Received Nearly GEL 6 Million from Georgian Dream and State Budget
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) has reported that 22 online media outlets connected to Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party have received close to GEL 6 million from the party and public funds over the past six years.
According to ISFED's findings, which are based on an analysis of the outlets' financial records, Georgian Dream transferred GEL 1.5 million directly to these outlets through regular monthly payments. The watchdog said another GEL 4.3 million came from simplified procurements between 2019 and 2025.
"Amid restrictions on independent online media, the consistent funding scheme for loyal media outlets shows that Georgian Dream's goal is to replace independent online media with party-controlled news agencies," ISFED stated in its October 21 report.
The organization said that Georgian Dream has been making monthly transfers to the same outlets for the past two years. "This indicates that a long-term and stable cooperation has been established between the party and these agencies," ISFED said, identifying Prime Time as the largest recipient of the party's direct payments.
ISFED found that the main sources of the simplified procurements were local self-governing bodies (46%) and the state budget (33%). An additional 4% came from the governments of the Adjara and Abkhazia autonomous republics, while 17% was provided by other public institutions.
The watchdog highlighted NewsHub as the main beneficiary of public tenders, noting that the outlet won 32 contracts worth GEL 2.6 million. Most of these contracts were for information support services, with the Central Election Commission listed as the largest contracting body.
"The editorial policies of the funded media outlets align with the ruling party's narratives," ISFED said. "They amplify Georgian Dream's messages, produce or disseminate propagandistic content, and, in some cases, take part in coordinated campaigns against the opposition." The group also noted that NewsHub has published more than 1,700 political advertisements on Facebook over the past five years.
ISFED warned that the existing funding system creates a "double dependency" for these outlets. "On the one hand, the media outlets are directly dependent on the ruling party's financial support, and on the other, on procurements from public agencies," the report said.
The watchdog added that funding tends to spike during election periods, "indicating that these resources are directly used to strengthen political communication, public relations, and propaganda."
"The model established by Georgian Dream represents a policy of strategic replacement, aimed at gradually pushing out independent online media and substituting it with pro-government outlets aligned with party narratives," ISFED concluded. "This significantly harms media pluralism and the prospects for democratic development in the country."
