On January 21, Irakli Rukhadze, the owner of a pro-government Imedi TV company, spoke on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Georgian Service podcast. Segments of the podcast were later disseminated by social media users. During the interview, Rukhadze talked about many topics, including integration into the EU and NATO, Russia, U.S. sanctions, and media freedom in various countries, and gave the example of Moldova, where, according to him, there are only two television stations. Rukhadze also stated that according to Freedom House, Georgia was the only green and fully free country in the neighborhood.
Myth Detector verified Irakli Rukhadze’s statements and found that during the interview he spread at least six false pieces of information:
- Georgia is not a free country by the Freedom House Index, but it is rated partly free and it is not in the “green” country category;
- NDI’s survey does not show that 85% of Georgian citizens want dialogue with Russia. When asked which countries Georgia should have close political cooperation with, only 20% mentioned Russia;
- NDI’s survey does not include a question about the importance of EU membership to citizens. However, 79% are in favor of European integration. The majority of the population believes that the EU should be Georgia’s economic and political partner;
- There are not two but 38 TV channels with active status in Moldova;
- NATO membership is not a precondition for EU membership; for example, Sweden and Finland joined the EU first and NATO later, while four EU member states (Malta, Austria, Ireland, and Cyprus) have not expressed a desire to join NATO;
- The USA can sanction its own citizens; such cases can be found in OFAC’s database of sanctioned individuals/companies.
-
Disinformation Claim No. 1: According to the Freedom House Index, Georgia is a fully free country
Irakli Ruhadze stated on Radio Liberty [54:10] that, according to the Freedom House Index, Georgia is the only green and fully free country in the neighborhood. This claim is not true.
According to the latest data from the US-based research organization, Freedom House, Georgia is classified as a partly free country. In the 2024 Freedom in the World Index, the organization assigned Georgia a score of 58 out of 100. With this rating, Georgia is not categorized among “green countries” and is marked as yellow on the map. It is also noteworthy that Georgia’s score surpasses those of Azerbaijan (7), Armenia (54), Turkey (33), and Russia (13). In Eastern Europe, Georgia ranks higher than Ukraine (49) but falls behind Moldova (61).
The report highlights several issues, including the influence of oligarchic forces on the country’s political situation, as well as physical attacks on representatives of opposition parties during the reporting year. According to the report, corruption exists within the government, while media freedom is undermined by the pressure and intimidation of journalists. The text also discusses problems within the judiciary, including a lack of transparency and professionalism. Freedom House’s report mentions significant events from 2023, such as large-scale protests against the “agents law” in March; the politically motivated case against the general director of the private TV channel, Nika Gvaramia; attacks on opposition politicians; and Bidzina Ivanishvili’s statement regarding a potential return to politics.
In recent years, Georgia’s score in the Freedom House index has been steadily declining:
- 2022 – 58/100
- 2021 – 60/100
- 2020 – 61/100
- 2019 – 63/100
- 2018 – 64/100
- 2017 – 64/100
-
Disinformation Claim No. 2: 85% of the public wants dialogue with Russia
Rukhadze also claims [1:29:30] that, according to an NDI survey, 85% of people want dialogue to be initiated with Russia. Based on this, the owner of Imedi concludes that dialogue with Russia is a public demand. However, it should be noted that no such question was included in the survey, and conclusions of this kind cannot be drawn from the responses to other questions either.
NDI found that the number of citizens who believe Georgia’s foreign policy should be exclusively pro-Western has decreased (37%). Additionally, 36% believe the policy should be pro-Western but that the country should maintain good relations with Russia. 8% think it should be pro-Russian while maintaining good relations with the EU and NATO, and 2% believe it should be outright pro-Russian. Even though the majority supports a pro-Western course, Rukhadze’s claim does not hold true even if the last three responses (46%) are combined.
In an open-ended question about which countries or unions Georgia should have the closest political cooperation with, 20% of respondents mentioned Russia. Additionally, 25% named Russia when asked about economic cooperation.
There is another question in the survey, which is related to Russia, namely, Georgia’s economic relations with it. When asked about this, 25% of respondents stated that Georgia should deepen its economic relations with Russia, 34% believed the relationship should remain as it is, and 25% supported further limiting economic ties.
It is noteworthy that no question about dialogue with Russia was included in the survey published in May 2023. Instead, the survey shows a declining trend over three consecutive surveys in the number of respondents who, in response to an open-ended question, said that Georgia should have close political cooperation with Russia. While this figure stood at 24% in February 2022, it dropped to 12% by March 2023.
- Disinformation Claim No. 3: EU membership is important to only 7% of the population
In the same interview, Irakli Rukhadze claimed that, according to the NDI survey, only 7% of the population considers EU membership important.
Journalist Nastasya Arabuli [2:00:35]: Joining the EU is a concern for a large part of the population.
Rukhadze: Only 7%, according to NDI.
Journalist: 80% support it.
Rukhadze: That’s like asking, “Do you want to go to the Maldives?” – Yes, I do. 80% say yes, but [when asked] “How important is it?” 7% say it is important. It used to be 3%.
In reality, this interpretation of the NDI survey results does not reflect the reality. The research organization directly asks citizens about EU membership. For example, in the survey published in December 2023, when asked whether they consider acceptable the Georgian government’s declared goal of becoming an EU member, 79% of respondents said it is acceptable.
Additionally, conclusions about public opinion regarding EU membership can also be drawn from responses to other questions. For instance, in an open-ended question about which countries or unions Georgia should have the closest political cooperation with, 60% of respondents named the EU. Similarly, when asked about economic cooperation, 59% mentioned the EU.
Sixty-six percent of respondents believe that Georgia will gain more benefits from European and Euro-Atlantic integration than from close relations with Russia.
As for the open-ended question, which Irakli Rukhadze likely refers to, it covers the national issues that are considered most important by citizens and their families. The responses include problems such as price increases/inflation, employment, poverty, territorial integrity, pensions, salaries, education, accessible healthcare, human rights, and more. Among these issues, accession to NATO and the EU are mentioned by 7% each. Based on this, Rukhadze concludes that EU membership is important to only 7% of the population. However, this question does not serve to assess citizens’ attitudes toward the EU, as it focuses on identifying challenges rather than evaluating the EU itself. The NDI survey does not include a question asking respondents how important EU membership is to them.
-
Disinformation Claim No. 4: Moldova only has two television stations
In the interview, Irakli Rukhadze, when speaking about media freedom in Georgia, repeatedly mentioned that Moldova has only two television stations, “State One” and “State Two.”
A list of licensed television stations in Moldova is publicly available on the country’s audiovisual national council website. Moldova has 55 registered television stations. Among them are the two state-run stations, “Moldova 1” and “Moldova 2,” which Rukhadze referred to several times. Additionally, 38 television stations, including national and regional stations as well as private ones, have active statuses. Three stations (TV Plus, Special TV, Cotidianul TV – CTV) have inactive statuses. Furthermore, 14 other stations have had their broadcasting licenses revoked or are subject to certain broadcasting restrictions due to decisions made by Moldova’s National Council for Promotion of Investment Projects of National Importance.
Since 2022, several television stations in Moldova have had their broadcasting licenses revoked. Shortly after the war in Ukraine began, six television stations had their licenses suspended for spreading misinformation, inaccurately covering the war in Ukraine, and attempting to manipulate public opinion. Four of these six stations were sanctioned by the European Council for regularly broadcasting programs from Russian television. In the following years, several other Moldovan stations also had their licenses revoked, and these stations were linked to pro-Russian oligarchs Ilan Shor and Vladimir Plahotniuc.
Irakli Rukhadze also claimed that Radio Liberty could not exist in Moldova in its current form. In reality, Radio Liberty does have a bureau in Moldova, which is still operational.
-
Disinformation Claim No. 5: EU member countries joined NATO first
Irakli Rukhadze also claims that no country has joined the European Union without first joining NATO. According to him, 11 countries from Eastern Europe were accepted into the EU, and all of them had first joined NATO. Based on this, he concludes that if NATO refuses Georgia, the country will not be accepted into the EU either. This statement is not true.
NATO membership is not a precondition for joining the European Union. There is no such requirement in the EU’s enlargement criteria. In practice, there are four EU member countries that are not part of NATO: Malta, Cyprus, Austria, and Ireland. Additionally, there are examples such as Sweden and Finland, where countries first joined the EU and later NATO.
For a country to join the EU, it must meet certain criteria, including respecting democratic values, having stable institutions that uphold democracy and the rule of law, a having functioning market economy, and having the ability to fulfill EU membership obligations. On the other hand, NATO membership requires a country to protect human rights, treat minorities fairly, have a market-based democratic political system, and be prepared to contribute to NATO’s military operations. Since the criteria for both organizations are similar, countries can join both NATO and the EU if they meet the requirements and do not prefer military neutrality. For example, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the Baltic States joined both organizations in 2004.
It is unclear which 11 countries Rukhadze is referring to since from Eastern Europe, Romania, and Bulgaria are members of both organizations. Politically, the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) are also considered part of Eastern Europe, but still, even with them included, this does not equal the number Rukhadze mentioned. Additionally, Moldova and Ukraine currently have official EU membership negotiations open, but neither has been invited to join NATO, with Moldova maintaining military neutrality and not yet expressing a desire to join NATO.
-
Disinformation Claim No. 6: The U.S. does not sanction its own citizens
Irakli Rukhadze spoke in detail about his possible sanctioning. The journalist asked him about a document obtained by Radio Liberty, referred to as the “Ivanishvili Lifeline Network.” On January 9, Radio Liberty’s Georgian bureau reported that a list of 26 individuals had been sent from Congress to the new U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. The individuals on the list are said to serve the purpose of strengthening Bidzina Ivanishvili’s influence, and Irakli Rukhadze is among them.
According to Rukhadze, the U.S. cannot impose sanctions on him because the United States does not sanction its own citizens.
There is no regulation in the United States that prohibits sanctioning its own citizens or individuals with dual citizenship. The U.S. has several sanction packages, with different agencies sharing responsibility for their enforcement. Financial sanctions are imposed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). These sanctions can be applied to both individuals and companies. The electronic database of OFAC-sanctioned individuals and companies also includes U.S. citizens. By selecting “United States” in the country field, it is possible to locate U.S. citizens and companies based in the U.S. within the database.
OFAC also clarifies that all U.S. citizens and companies operating in the United States are obligated to comply with the sanctions it imposes. It is noteworthy that the founder of the Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili, is on OFAC’s sanctions list. The letter obtained by Radio Liberty specifically calls for Rukhadze to be sanctioned for his support of Ivanishvili.
A U.S. citizen may also be subject to the “Magnitsky Act.” Under this act, individuals may be banned from entering U.S. territory, have their existing visas revoked, and face restrictions on accessing property under U.S. jurisdiction. Furthermore, U.S. citizens are prohibited from engaging in transactions with any foreign individual designated by the president and added to the list. The “Magnitsky List” includes individuals who, based on U.S. investigations, are involved in serious human rights violations and corruption. Individuals on the “Magnitsky List” are also included in OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. The explanation states that if a U.S. citizen is on the list, they will lose access to their property.
Therefore, the United States can impose sanctions on its own citizens or individuals with dual citizenship. However, such cases are relatively rare.
The article has been written in the framework of Facebook’s fact-checking program. You can read more about the restrictions that Facebook may impose based on this article via this link. You can find information about appealing or editing our assessment via this link.
Read detailed instructions for editing the article.
Read detailed appeal instructions.
