Georgia Falls 11 Places to 114th in RSF Press Freedom Index
Georgia’s press freedom ranking has dropped sharply – from 103rd to 114th – in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a Paris-based press freedom watchdog, on May 2. Speaking to Civil.ge, Jeanne Cavelier, head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, highlighted increasing violence against reporters and the imprisonment of journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, who is “being treated more harshly due to her profession.” RSF also criticized the growing political control over the Georgian Public Broadcaster, which “has become a mouthpiece for the ruling party.”
In this year’s report the organization focused on the global challenges to the freedom of press stemming from the economic fragility and economic pressure as a major, more insidious problem, in addition to more visible, physical attacks against journalists.
In Georgia, the organization highlighted, the GD Parliament “continues to pass laws that restrict press freedom, including a recently revised version of the foreign influence law, which endangers media outlets funded by foreign donors.”
In the global environment already marked by the “the slow economic asphyxiation of the independent press” in the region, RSF noted that in Georgia, companies are discouraged from advertising with these outlets, and that the Georgian Public Broadcaster has increasingly acted as a ruling party mouthpiece, purging journalists who do not align with its editorial line.
The worsening ranking, according to which the country is now in “difficult” countries as far as press freedom is concerned, with the global score of 50.53, reflects the increasing physical violence against journalists in the country: “The persistent impunity enjoyed by those who commit crimes against journalists has recently been compounded by increased violence from law enforcement against reporters covering the protests shaking the country since the contested victory of the “Georgian Dream” party, led by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, in November,” said Jeanne Cavelier, to Civil.ge.
She added that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to work as a journalist in Georgia, citing more than 100 documented cases, “including beatings, arbitrary detentions, and the confiscation or destruction” of journalistic equipment.
The watchdog outlined the case of Mzia Amaghlobeli, the detained journalist and founder of Batumelebi/Netgazeti, as “emblematic of Georgia’s media crackdown.” Once seen as a beacon of democracy in the Caucasus, the country is now facing mounting repression, RSF warns. Amaghlobeli, charged with slapping Batumi police chief Irakli Dgebuadze, “is being treated more harshly due to her profession,” the watchdog argues.
RSF said the hostile environment toward critical media is further amplified by defamatory rhetoric from politicians, administrative bans, and a constant climate of fear. It also pointed to the cases in which two French journalists were denied entry to Georgia after covering the pro-EU demonstrations, calling it a sign of “authoritarian drift.”
The watchdog also flagged Georgia’s media advertising market as heavily influenced by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, limiting independent outlets’ ability to attract commercial support. The organization said the new “foreign influence” law [FARA] further restricts access to alternative funding amid ongoing anti-regime protests.
On top of everything, budget cuts under the Trump administration – including the suspension of funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the U.S. Agency for International Development – have “severely weakened an already vulnerable sector, especially in countries grappling with authoritarian regimes, corruption, and war,” the report warned.
The report comes amid the deteriorating media environment in the country. During the coverage of pro-EU rallies, many dozens of instances of violence against journalists by the police were recorded. According to the Europe Press Freedom Report, Georgia experienced the steepest surge in journalist safety alerts among Council of Europe (CoE) member states, and the press freedom in the country is under severe strain amid rising authoritarianism.
Also Read:
- 19/12/2024 – RSF: Shocking Impunity for Violence Against Reporters in Georgia
- 03/05/2024 – Georgia’s Ranking Drops 26 Places, Landing at 103rd in RSF Press Freedom Ranking
- 03/05/2023 – Georgia Ranks 77th in RSF Press Freedom Ranking
- 03/05/2022 – Georgia Slips in Press Freedom Ranking
- 20/04/2021 – Georgia in RSF Press Freedom Index 2021
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