Mediterranean Agora 2025: Journalism, Decolonization, and Media Literacy in Focus
April 29, 2025
World Press Freedom Day
April 30, 2025
The executive director and editor-in-chief of the Media Development Foundation and Myth Detector is a key advocate for press freedom in Georgia.
DW Director General on presenting the DW Freedom of Speech Award: “Tamar Kintsurashvili’s work is crucial in the fight against disinformation and in promoting media literacy in Georgia. Her efforts to combat domestic and international propaganda are essential for freedom of the press, freedom of expression and trust in free media. The country is currently at a crossroads: a parliament without an active opposition, a frozen EU accession process and new authoritarian media laws that resemble those we already know from Russia. During times like these, Tamar’s dedication is not easy – but all the more crucial for press freedom and democracy.”
Tamar Kintsurashvili will receive the DW Freedom of Speech Award on July 7, 2025, at the Global Media Forum (GMF), DW’s international media conference, in Bonn.
Years of campaigning against disinformation in Georgia
Kintsurashvili serves as the Executive Director of the Media Development Foundation (MDF), a non-governmental organization founded in 2008. The foundation is dedicated to promoting fundamental human rights and freedoms while supporting the journalistic and institutional development of Georgian media. In addition, the MDF and Kintsurashvili provide training on disinformation to numerous Georgian schoolchildren and young adults. Since 2014, the foundation has been running the fact-checking platform Myth Detector, with Kintsurashvili serving as its editor-in-chief. The platform uncovers disinformation, supports the Georgian population and organizations in promoting media literacy, and raises awareness of the dangers of disinformation.
In cooperation with DW Akademie, Kintsurashvili also founded the Myth Detector Lab in 2017, giving journalists throughout Georgia access to fact checks and valuable knowledge resources.
Democracy and media under pressure in Georgia
Since October 2024, there have been repeated protests in Georgia against the parliamentary elections, in which the pro-Russian “Georgian Dream” party is once again said to have won, a result questioned by election observers. Due to the boycott by the opposition forces, the ruling party now effectively has full control of parliament. At the beginning of April 2025, the Georgian government tightened media laws, which means that media and non-governmental organizations in Georgia are no longer allowed to accept foreign funds without registering and being checked in a special register. The state’s “Communications Commission” was given extended powers to regulate content.
The international Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called the changes “an attempt to restrict press freedom under the pretext of national security concerns.” The Georgian Association of Journalists described them as a “direct threat to the independence of the media.” According to a recent report by Reporters Without Borders, the state of media freedom in Georgia has deteriorated rapidly. In the organization’s ranking, Georgia dropped 26 places compared to 2023, now ranking 103rd out of 180 countries.
DW Freedom of Speech Award
Since 2015, DW has awarded the Freedom of Speech Award to spotlight restricted press freedom of the world and honor the exceptional work of journalists and human rights defenders. Past honorees include Yulia Navalnaya and the Russian Anti-Corruption Foundation (2024), Óscar Martínez, editor-in-chief of online outlet El Faro in El Salvador (2023), and Nigerian investigative journalist Tobore Ovuorie (2021).