LONDON, December 2. /TASS/. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) does not agree with accusations from the ruling party Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia that it spread false information in a report about protests in Tbilisi, the broadcaster's official representative told TASS.
Earlier, the BBC published a report titled "When Water Burns: The Fight for Georgia," which claimed that Georgian authorities allegedly used chemical weapons from the First World War against protesters in 2024. In Georgia, the corporation was accused of lying, an investigation was launched and international lawsuits were threatened. The BBC is confident that the report "is firmly in the public interest and the evidence gathered is clearly presented for audiences." As stated by the corporation, the report "includes hearing directly from the protestors themselves, multiple whistleblowers, UN experts and experts inside Georgia, as well as a medical study and written documents and reports."
"We stand by our journalism and thank the brave contributors who took part," the statement says.
Earlier, the ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party declared in an official statement that Georgian authorities intend to file lawsuits in international courts against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) over what they call fake news claiming police used chemical agents against protesters.
The party underscored that the BBC presented no evidence in its report, relying exclusively on statements from biased sources, protesters and political opponents of the government, some of whom hold prior convictions for their activities. Prior to publication, the Georgian Dream press service had furnished the broadcaster with comprehensive responses to all inquiries and had requested that the authorities' position be fully reflected in accordance with professional journalistic standards. Nonetheless, the final article incorporated less than one percent of the detailed clarifications the party had provided to its authors.