Poland launches Georgian news service to combat Russian disinformation

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Poland’s foreign ministry and public broadcaster, TVP, have teamed up to launch a news service in the Georgian language that aims to “combat Russian disinformation” targeting Georgia and offer a “European perspective”.

The initiative adds to a growing number of services launched by Poland in recent years aimed at countries in its eastern neighbourhood, including most recently Moldova and Armenia, in addition to longer-established Russian and Belarusian channels.

On Monday, TVP and the foreign ministry announced the launch of VT Sakartvelo News, with “Sakartvelo” being the name of Georgia in Georgian. It will broadcast a regular news show available via satellite on Belsat, a Poland-based Belarusian channel, as well as its own dedicated YouTube channel.

“We are creating services whose mission is to support democratic processes in the South Caucasus countries, strengthen stability in the region, and combat Russian disinformation,” said Jerzy Sałodki, who is editorial director of Vot Tak, a Russian-language channel run by TVP.

“We do not take sides in the political disputes of the countries to which our programs are directed,” added Sałodki. “In this complex situation, reliability, freedom of information, and objectivity are paramount.”

Georgia, around 20% of whose territory has been occupied by Russia since 2008, is seen as a particular target for Russian disinformation and political interference. The elections of 2024, won by the Georgian Dream party, pushed the country closer to Moscow and further from potential EU accession.

Poland joined France and Germany in jointly expressing concern over the conduct of those elections. Warsaw later sanctioned eight Georgian officials deemed responsible for violence against protesters in the wake of the elections.

In its announcement of VT Sakartvelo News this week, the Polish foreign ministry said that it “aims to provide reliable information on political, social, and economic events from a European perspective and to support democratic processes”.

The editor of the new service, Rati Mujiri, said that they “want to tell the truth…about what the EU is doing for Georgia[,]…bringing viewers closer to the European perspective and pointing to paths that will bring us closer together”.

In response to the launch, Georgian station TV Imedia, part of a media group supportive of the Georgian Dream government, commented that one of the main presenters, Natia Koberidze, was a “propagandist of the Saakashvili regime”, referring to former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

In December 2024, TVP set up a new International Media Centre (Ośrodek Mediów dla Zagranicy) to coordinate its existing foreign-language broadcasting in English, Belarusian and Russian.

Since then, it has launched new services in Ukrainian, Romanian (aimed at Moldova) and Armenian. On Monday, TVP revealed that its Moldovan channel has received 5.5 million views since the start of February. It added that it is in the process of preparing a service aimed at Kazakhstan.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: VT Sakartvelo News/Youtube (screenshot)

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.