Paris, March 18 – Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has raised concerns over China’s growing influence in Georgia’s weakened media landscape. Since 2022, China has been increasing its influence on the information space in Georgia. While it has not established a state-owned media outlet in Georgia, China is relying on local media outlets, particularly those that are pro-Kremlin and support the Georgian government, to promote its narratives, according to a report.
A 50-minute program highlighting China's achievements, hosted by two anchors standing in front of a map of the country topped with the communist flag, was broadcast on a leading television channel in Georgia. Often considered pro-Kremlin, the channel was launched in 2010 by former MP and co-founder of the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia party, Irma Inashvili.
"Produced using content provided by China Media Group—China’s largest state-owned broadcasting company—each program amounts to nearly an hour of praise for Beijing's economic, cultural, and diplomatic successes. Sensitive topics, such as the repression of Uyghurs in the autonomous region of Xinjiang or the protests in Hong Kong, are carefully avoided," according to a report by Reporters Without Borders based in Paris.
"This format illustrates Beijing's strategy of foreign influence, which seeks to shape international perceptions of China by concealing damaging information and promoting a positive image of the country. The Chinese Embassy in Georgia funds Obiektivi for this program, as shown by the 2025 data published on the website of the Communications Commission (ComCom), the country’s media regulator," it added.
The 2026 data has not yet been released. However, since April 2025, amendments to Georgia's Broadcasting Law have banned broadcasters from accepting foreign funding, except for commercial advertising. The Georgian authorities have not taken any steps in response to Obiektivi's apparent violation of this law, according to RSF.
Jeanne Cavelier, head of the RSF Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, stated, "Beijing doesn't need to open its own media outlets in Georgia; it uses local intermediaries to spread its narratives. This interference is not limited to disinformation; it also operates through the subtle integration of foreign state narratives and opaque influence relationships with certain media outlets. In Georgia's weakened media landscape, these tactics help create an ecosystem in which authoritarian propaganda mutually reinforces itself, gradually eroding media pluralism."
According to RSF, the signing of a strategic partnership between Georgia and China in 2023 marked a new phase in the dissemination of China's narrative in Georgia. During that period, articles from China-based leading daily Global Times, which is aligned with the Communist Party of China, were republished in several Georgian outlets. Content from the Global Times is translated and published regularly in Georgia, according to the report.
"China's influence is growing as Georgia's media landscape becomes increasingly fragile. Amid political pressure, restrictive legislation, and funding difficulties, many independent media outlets are struggling to survive. More than 600 violations targeting journalists and media outlets were recorded between October 2024 and November 2025. In this context, Georgia's information space has provided particularly fertile ground for foreign influence to take hold," RSF detailed.