On August 13, 2025, 22 Georgian media websites went dark. “It was a huge scandal on social media, because people were very afraid there was an attack from the regime,” said Ketevan Kavtaradze, CEO of Sinatle Media.
The websites had gone dark on purpose.
The “Lights Must Stay On” campaign came from a group of newsrooms operating under increasingly difficult conditions. It began as immediate relief for newsrooms struggling to cover their operating costs, but going dark for three hours also showed audiences what a country without independent journalism might look like.
For Sinatle Media, a collective response to Georgia’s media crisis was never optional. The network launched in August 2025 amid growing political repression that has driven one of the most rapid declines in media freedom in Europe. It brings together 22 independent online outlets, from the country’s largest media organisations to smaller, regional newsrooms, publishing in Georgian, English, Azerbaijani and Armenian.
The pressure on independent media had been building in Georgia for years. Journalism emerged as a dangerous profession: journalists were beaten, arrested, and attacks against them went largely unpunished as state institutions fell under capture, including the country’s national broadcaster. A court sentenced Mzia Amaglobeli, IPI-IMS World Press Freedom Hero and co-founder of independent newsrooms Batumelebi and Netgazeti, to two years in prison on August 6,2025, following more than 200 days in pretrial detention and a politicised trial. More than a year and a half into unjust detention, the call to free her carries greater urgency.
A series of draconian foreign funding laws made it almost impossible for newsrooms to receive money from abroad, putting their ability to continue operating at risk. Born out of need, creativity became the only way forward.
Keeping the lights on
Sinatle means “light” in Georgian, a symbol that runs through much of the network’s work. Its first crowdfunding effort was built around the idea that independent journalism needs reader support to keep shining light on what happens in the country. The campaign soon grew into a broader effort to engage audiences around the positive role of independent media – and to find creative ways for people to contribute.
And they did. Supporters joined the organisation’s annual flea market under the message “Sell and Buy for Sinatle,” going beyond the conventional ways of supporting newsrooms through donations or social media comments. They gathered on the streets of Tbilisi and 60 people spent an entire day behind the stalls selling their own belongings to raise funds, with many others donating artwork and other valuable items to be auctioned. The first such effort brought in almost ₾100,000 (roughly €34,500), and a selection of those donated pieces will be sold through an online store currently in development.
Members and the board distribute the money through an internal equity-based system, assessing needs and deciding collectively where funds are most urgently required. That approach matters because local independent media have always found it harder to survive financially in the regions, a pressure visible in the dwindling number of newsrooms.
Building solidarity across sectors
That spirit of solidarity has also brought people from outside the media sector into the network. Sinatle Media describes them as its “army of supporters”: individual donors, publishers, creative professionals, and others who contribute their time, expertise, and resources. Their involvement has become increasingly important as pressure on independent media spreads across the wider publishing and information ecosystem.
The Georgian advertising agency Windfor’s recently developed “The Truth Is Visible in the Light, a pro bono campaign reflecting Sinatle Media’s central idea: the truth can be obscured, but it cannot be erased forever.
The campaign, which recently won several awards at Ad Black Sea, brought that idea to life in a series of creative projects. A film used light as a metaphor for revealing what darkness tries to hide. A physical newspaper could only be read when readers shone a light onto its cover, turning the simple act of accessing information into a literal representation of the challenges facing independent journalism. At an exhibition at Antenna Bar in Tbilisi, held to mark Sinatle Media’s first anniversary, the organisers recreated protest stencils on the walls that had appeared on the city’s streets and been erased. In normal light, the walls appeared blank; when illuminated, the original messages emerged again.
“As a journalist, you don’t need applause to keep doing your work, but you need these supporters to keep your job away from the intruders, from pressure, and from the regime. That’s why we need this support.” Teo Kavtaradze, Chair of the Board of Sinatle Media.
Innovating under pressure
Still, crowdfunding alone cannot guarantee sustainability in a country where many potential supporters face financial uncertainty themselves, while the government works to erode audience trust in independent media. Georgian Dream party has made the team the target of prolonged smear campaigns, accusing the organisation and its members of misappropriating public funds and of receiving special foreign agent training at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, one of the country’s main media and communications universities. Sinatle has denied the accusations.
Sinatle Media resists that pressure partly by developing new revenue streams. New products include a monthly newsletter compiling content from the network’s 22 independent online media outlets that analyse Georgia’s political developments for the country’s diaspora and international audiences interested in supporting independent media, alongside the shop’s merchandise and books by member journalists.
Newsrooms may have fewer resources than before, but collectively their influence has grown.
“The plans are big. I’m very optimistic, and I know that the country will come back and when we do, Sinatle will be this big network that will support, strengthen and help develop its members. This is the main goal for the future.” Ketevan Kavtaradze, CEO of Sinatle Media.
Sinatle Media is an IPI member and has appeared at the Media Innovation Festival 2026 and the World Congress and Media Innovation Festival in 2025.