The 2026 edition again includes Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili in its economic category and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in its political category, accusing both of targeting independent media.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published its 2026 list of 33 “press freedom predators” on 2 November, naming individuals and organizations it accuses of targeting journalists and media outlets. The list groups them into political, security, legal, economic and social categories.
Both Ivanishvili and Aliyev have appeared before: the Georgian party founder first entered the list in 2025, and the Azerbaijani president has featured since 2010. The list names actors; RSF’s separate World Press Freedom Index ranks countries.
RSF places Ivanishvili, a billionaire and former prime minister, in its economic category, which concerns financial pressure on independent media and their funding and editorial independence. RSF says he remains the real power behind Georgia’s government and that, under his influence, economic resources and state institutions are used to stifle independent media through financial pressure, laws, censorship and legal action.
Among the examples RSF cites is the continued detention of journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, a co-founder of Batumelebi/Netgazeti. Georgia’s Supreme Court rejected her appeal, and her application for early release was denied. RSF also points to laws criminalizing certain forms of foreign funding, broadcasting regulator sanctions against critical channels Formula TV and TV Pirveli, and restrictions on journalists' parliamentary accreditation.
Georgian Dream parliamentary majority leader Irakli Kirtskhalia dismissed the assessment on 3 November as “another speculation,” OC Media said. He argued that Georgia was among the world’s leading countries for media freedom and democracy. He said Ivanishvili’s inclusion was the price of refusing to surrender Georgia’s peace, national interests and sovereignty to the interests of what he called the “Global War Party.”
Kremlin-installed authorities say Ukrainian attacks forced emergency cuts in at least five cities. In Russia, Yaroslavl Governor Mikhail Yevrayev says a refinery was struck and two workers were injured.
Aliyev appears in the political category, which concerns the suppression of information through political power. RSF says Azerbaijan under his presidency is a “news desert” where government critics are silenced and journalists face constant harassment. It says 27 media professionals are detained.
RSF cites increasingly severe sentences for media professionals, including prison sentences of up to 14 years handed to Toplum TV journalists in July 2026, and says the creation of Azerbaijan’s Media and Broadcasting Council tightened state control over the media. It also points to threats beyond Azerbaijan’s borders against exiled journalists and bloggers, including Mahammad Mirzali, a refugee in France.
US President Donald Trump also appears in the political category. RSF accuses him of intensifying attacks on the press since his return to office in January 2025, citing verbal attacks, legal intimidation, administrative reprisals and restrictions on journalists' access to government and military institutions. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Israeli armed forces, Belarusian President Aliaksandr Lukashenka, Nicaraguan leaders Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Argentine President Javier Milei are also among those named.
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From 1 January 2027, retailers and food-service outlets must stop supplying or holding specified plastic products, with exceptions for some packaging and recycled garbage bags.
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