On January 12, Qartli.ge reported the conclusion of a paid service agreement between Teleimedi and the Gori Municipality City Hall. The stated purpose of this contractual agreement was the dissemination of information concerning the City Hall's activities. Media Development Foundation (MDF)  examined this practice of concluding similar agreements between progovernment Teleimedi and other municipalities. Consequently, MDF undertook an analysis of data from the State Procurement Agency's database, spanning the period from December 2025 through January 9, 2026.

Further investigation revealed that, between December 1, 2025, and January 9, 2026, “LLC Teleimedi” concluded contractual agreements for information services with eight municipal city halls, amounting to a total value of GEL 62,445. These municipalities include Gori, Akhalkalaki, Adigeni, Khulo, Rustavi, Borjomi, Poti, and Khobi.

These contracts are for a one-year term. In seven of these instances, the contractual value for each amounts to GEL 7,500 (GEL 625 per month). The subject matter of these seven agreements stipulates the placement of no more than 60 releases on the website. However, for Rustavi Municipality, the annual contractual value is GEL 9,945 (GEL 825.75 per month), and that specific contract provides for the publication of no more than 85 informational releases on the website.

The contractual terms are largely similar and stipulate the following substantive and procedural obligations:

• Placement of Information Provided by the Client Without Content Alteration: Editing and translation of the material are permissible solely on the condition that its original meaning is not changed (applicable to Khobi, Poti, Khulo, Gori, Adigeni, Borjomi)

• Coverage in Accordance with Client's Request: The agency shall ensure the preparation and dissemination of announcements/information regarding the client's activities and events, in accordance with the client's request. This includes their distribution to other media outlets, as needed, but not exceeding 38 times per month. The agency shall also provide photo-coverage of events in accordance with the client's request, but not exceeding 2 times per month within Tbilisi (Borjomi)

• Informational Support Through the Placement of Provided Releases: A total of no more than 60 releases to be placed on the website (www.imedinews.ge) for Khobi, Poti, Khulo, Gori, Akhalkalaki, Adigeni, and Borjomi; and no more than 85 releases to be placed (Rustavi)

• Dissemination of Ethical and Non-Offensive Information: Not to place any information containing offensive, inappropriate, or unethical content (Akhalkalaki, Borjomi).

• Immediate Placement of Submitted Information: Information provided shall be published immediately (on the same day of its submission) (Khobi, Poti, Khulo, Gori, Adigeni)."

• Protection of Municipal Copyrights: Information provided by the client shall not be transferred to third parties for the purpose of distribution, exchange, or sale without the client's consent (Akhalkalaki, Khobi, Poti, Khulo, Adigeni, Borjomi).

Significantly, TeliImedi publishes paid press releases supplied by municipalities without disclosure of their commercial nature, thereby misleading the audience and failing to inform them of the material's paid status.

According to Article 57 of the “Broadcasters' Code of Conduct,” advertisements must be clearly distinguished from program elements to prevent misleading the audience and to ensure the independence of editorial control over the program content.

Article 57. Principle of advertising

“Not to mislead the audience, broadcasters shall maintain the independence of editorial control over program content and shall not distort programs for commercial purposes. Advertisements shall be clearly separated from program elements.”

Article 59 of the Code further stipulates that a clear distinction between advertising and program content is crucial for ensuring editorial independence and accountability to the audience.

Article 59. Guidelines for advertising

1. A clear separation of advertisement and programme is necessary to ensure editorial independence and accountability to the audience.

2. Broadcasters should not promote products and services in a misleading way or refer to them in programs so that to create an impression of endorsement.

According to Article 4 of the Law of Georgia “On Advertising,” advertisements must be evident as direct advertising at the moment of their presentation, without requiring specialized knowledge or technical means.

Furthermore, according to Principle 9 of the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics, editorial materials and marketing, advertising, and sponsor-funded materials must be clearly distinguished from each other.

The examples presented below demonstrate that what  TeleImedi's website designates under its 'Trusted Source' rubric is, in fact, a commercially funded article, disseminated without due advertising markings. This content is verbatim published on the respective municipality's own official platforms. Furthermore, the information concerning regions on Teleimedi's website is distributed without critical examination, relying primarily on official sources, which is indicative of the pro-government alignment of Imedi TV's editorial policy.

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