ISFED: Pro-government media in Georgia received up to $1.5 million in state funds over five years
According to a study by the NGO Fair Elections (ISFED), the ruling Georgian Dream party paid a total of 1,503,708 lari (about $554,000) to 22 online media outlets between 2019 and 2025.
The organisation discovered this after examining financial declarations submitted to the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the State Audit Office.
According to ISFED, over the past two years the payments were made almost every month — both during the periods leading up to parliamentary and municipal elections and in between — indicating long-term and stable cooperation between the ruling party and the media outlets.
The study notes that online media affiliated with Georgian Dream received public funds mainly through simplified procurement procedures. Between 2019 and 2025, there were 1,159 such contracts worth a total of 4.3 million lari (about $1.58 million).
ISFED identified at least 25 news agencies directly or indirectly linked to Georgian Dream. They have been receiving organised financial support through two parallel channels: regular direct funding from the party itself and state budget allocations.pro
Key findings of the study
- According to simplified procurement contracts signed by online media outlets linked to the ruling Georgian Dream party, the main sources of funding were local self-government bodies (46%) and the state budget (33%). An additional 4% came from the governments of the Autonomous Republics of Adjara and Abkhazia, while 17% was financed through the own revenues of state institutions.
- The owner of the Newshub news agency — LLC Pirveli — actively participated in public tenders in 2024–2025, earning 100% of its profits from state contracts. According to the State Procurement Agency, as of 18 September 2025, the company had won 32 tenders worth a total of 2,617,744 lari.
- The editorial policy of these state-funded media outlets aligns closely with the ruling party’s agenda. They routinely promote Georgian Dream narratives, produce or distribute propaganda content, and in some cases engage in smear campaigns against the opposition. Between 2020 and 2025, Pia.ge – News alone published 1,721 political ads on Facebook worth over $25,400, amplifying pro-government narratives.
- ISFED concludes that, amid restrictions on independent media, Georgian Dream appears to be pursuing a strategy to replace independent online outlets with politically controlled ones through a coordinated system of financial support.
ISFED on Georgian media
