Factor TV Receives 2026 Free Media Award

Factor TV has been named a recipient of the 2026 Free Media Award from the Fritt Ord Foundation in Norway and ZEIT Stiftung Bucerius in Germany for its independent, fact-based journalism.

The Free Media Awards are press prizes awarded by the two foundations to highlight and strengthen the independent role of journalists and media in Eastern and Central Europe.

The 2026 laureates were selected by an international jury. All candidates were nominated by international institutions and organisations active in Eastern and Central Europe, or by experts on the region.

“Yerevan-based Factor TV is receiving a Free Media Award for its independent, fact-based journalism which clearly contributes to a more nuanced public debate in Armenia. Through rigorous reporting, investigations and analysis, Factor TV cuts through disinformation and propaganda, establishing itself as one of Armenia’s leading independent and trusted media outlets.

The outlet has distinguished itself through investigative and watchdog journalism, exposing corruption, conflicts of interest, breaches of integrity and abuses of power, and prompting criminal investigations and disciplinary proceedings. Factor TV also reports extensively on human rights, violence against women, minority rights, and other sensitive or underreported issues.

Amid growing disinformation, politicised propaganda, hate speech and foreign information manipulations and interference, Factor TV systematically exposes misleading narratives, prebunks and debunks disinformation, and provides audiences with verified information and context,” the Fritt Ord Foundation and ZEIT Stiftung Bucerius stated in the announcement.

Alongside Factor TV, the other recipients of the 2026 Free Media Awards are Ukrainian investigative journalist Mykhailo Tkach of Ukrainska Pravda; Georgian investigative media outlet iFact; independent Russian online media outlet Verstka, which operates in exile; and imprisoned Belarusian journalist and media director Andrei Aliaksandrau.

Mykhailo Tkach is receiving a Free Media Award for his dauntless and consistent investigative wartime journalism. As head of investigative journalism at Ukrainska Pravda, he has helped shape public debate in Ukraine and internationally by exposing cases of corruption and abuses of power.

iFact is receiving a Free Media Award for its significant investigative journalism on matters of great public interest in Georgia that others are trying to conceal. Its investigations have covered Russian influence in the country and ties to the Georgian Dream Party, as well as corruption among the elite at state level.

The independent online media outlet Verstka is receiving a Free Media Award for being a credible first-hand source on the human costs of the war, militarisation and oppression, domestic and gender-based violence, and the persecution of LGBTQ+ communities. Based in Prague, Verstka reports on Russia without regard for censorship, pressure or manipulation.

Journalist and media director Andrei Aliaksandrau, who is currently imprisoned in Belarus, has been chosen to receive a Free Media Award for his courage and commitment to freedom of the press and freedom of expression under an increasingly repressive regime.

The Free Media Awards Ceremony will be held at the Munch Museum in Oslo on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, while the Free Media Conference will take place at the Fritt Ord Foundation on Wednesday, 30 September.