Council of Europe documents unwarranted interference, fear, self-censorship
In many European countries journalists are under pressure, facing a variety of threats from governments, bosses and advertisers. The Council of Europe is marking World Press Freedom Day by underlining its support for independent journalism, free from unwarranted influence whatever the source.
Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland is publishing his annual report on the state of democracy and human rights in Europe. This year he focuses on several new topics, including the rise of populism and the spreading of fake news. Also published today, a new survey sponsored by the Council of Europe into the prevalence of unwarranted interference, fear and self-censorship amongst a sample of 940 journalists from the 47 Council of Europe member states and Belarus.
The EFJ and its affiliates contributed to the reports and the findings and encourage you to visit the Council of Europe’s special media freedom page to explore what is being done to protect journalists and to find out what steps you can take to help.
