Right-wing media outlet Alt-Info officially registered as political party

The political party Conservative Movement of the Georgian right-wing media outlet Alt-Info has been officially registered by the National Agency of Public Registry on December 7.

• Right-wing media outlet Alt-Info unable to register political party ‘due to application mistakes’

Founders of the media outlet were unable to register their recently launched political party in November due to mistakes made while filling out the application form and were therefore given 10 days to amend it.  

The Conservative Movement party, established on November 20, states that it is ready to have ‘partnership relations with Russia.’ 

• Georgian right-wing media outlet Alt-Info to be aired on local provider Silknet after months of dispute

An anchor of ultra-nationalist media platform Alt-Info, Zurab Makharadze is the head of the Conservative Movement, while the secretary general of the party is Giorgi Kardava. Among the leaders of the movement are other members of Alt-Info Koka Morgoshia and Irakli Martinenko.

Alt-Info actively expressed and encouraged violence against the Tbilisi Pride march earlier this year, and the founders of the media outlet participated in the Tbilisi Pride counter-rally on July 5 in which more than 50 journalists were injured.

• Facebook deletes pages, accounts with ties to Georgian March ultranationalist party

Later in July, police searched the apartments of Alt-Info’s founder and its members; however, no case was filed against them. The organisers of the counter-rally still have not been identified.

A total of 50 Facebook accounts, 49 pages and 15 Instagram accounts have been banned from social media related to Alt-Info in 2020, while the Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC) fined Alt-Info 2,500 GEL (about $807/€714) for obscenity and the distribution of inappropriate material to minors in April of this year.