“Journalists are in the frontline in the fight against disinformation,” said yesterday Věra Jourová, Vice-President for Values and Transparency in the European Commission. “We are calling on Member States to ensure that they can work safely, in the right conditions, and to make the most of the EU recovery package to support media while respecting their independence.” Yesterday’s Commission communication on fight against COVID-19 disinformation includes a chapter on ensuring freedom of expression with strong messages on the importance of journalists, free and independent media, access to information, transparency and accountability. “The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated the crucial role of…

The EFJ GS will deliver a training session on EFJ policy on disinformation.

Seminar: Disinformation, Misinformation, Malinformation – How to Tackle Fake News and Information War in the EU? The Finnish Foundation for Media and Development (VIKES) and The Union of Journalists in Finland are organizing the seminar “Disinformation, Misinformation, Malinformation – How to Tackle Fake News and Information War in the EU?” Their goal is to identify different forms of misinformation and influence operations, as well as to introduce measures to tackle and regulate them. The seminar programme can be found here: https://vikes.fi/osallistu/disinformationseminar. It will also be possible to follow the seminar online. Stream link:  https://www.mediaserver.fi/live/vikes The EFJ GS is invited as…

The EFJ GS will meet the ambassador of Spain in Brazil, Fernando García Casas.

In 2018, the Advisory Council on Internet and Elections, instituted by the Superior Electoral Court on December 7th, 2017, fostered many activities related to the influence of internet over Elections, especially concerning the risks brought by fake news and the use of robots for spreading this kind of information. Those activities enabled the widening of Electoral Justice’s knowledge about the topic, helping not only to prevent but also to tackle the great problem of fake news spreading during the 2018 General Elections. Considering that balancing the phenomenon known as fake news is extremely complex in every branch of society, in…

Quinta-feira 16 de maio 2019 – 10:30-12:00 Auditório do bloco 3 (capacidade 250) Esta mesa redonda apresentará uma reflexão das atuais medidas da União Europeia sobre as Fake News, com uma mirada especial sobre a situação no Brasil, e, em particular, como este fenômeno atinge os jovens e como eles compreende-o e contrastam a propagação das notícias falsas nos vários meios de comunicação. 10:30 – 10:45 Abertura do evento Intervenção da autoridade da UniCEUB (a definir) Intervenção da Senhora Hilde Hardeman, Diretora do Instrumento de Parceria, Serviço Europeu para a Ação Externa, União Europeia 10:45 – 11:30 Mesa redonda sobre…

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IJF) today expressed serious concerns over the new Russian law on “fake” news and the “lack of respect for the state, the authorities, and society”, warning it is likely to have a chilling effect on freedom of expression in the country. The EFJ and IFJ urge the Russian authorities to review the legislation which came into force on 18 March and to give greater consideration to representation of the Union of Journalists of Russia (RUJ), an EFJ-IFJ affiliate. Under this law, the “flagrant” disrespect for the state, public authorities, official symbols and society…

First Draft is hosting three identical ‘Collaboration Againsts Disinformation’ summits, bringing together journalists, researchers, analysts and innovators from across Europe, to kick off a cross-border collaboration as part of our new CrossCheck International Initiative. Attendance at these events is by invitation only. First Draft is seeking representation from organisations who are interested in working together as part of a trusted and multi-disciplinary community that will provide proactive defence and rapid and effective response to the challenges related to information disorder. The initial focus of this network will be European elections over the coming months.

The conference is organised by the Journalists Solidarity Foundation and the Polish Journalists Association (SDP). The conference title – Freedom (of speech) it’s what I love, it’s what I understand – quotes a well-known song by the popular Polish rock band of the 1990s to highlight that freedom of speech is not just a theoretical concept. We need to cherish freedom in order to be able to stand up for it when jeopardized, whatever the dangers. This was the case in Poland and in other countries which had been subjected to Russia for several dozens of years. Communism had fallen but we…

Le Secrétaire général de la FEJ, Ricardo Gutiérrez, intervient dans le cadre de cette conférence organisée par l’Institut Jacques Delors, à la Fondation Gulbenkian, à Paris. “Les propagandes informatiques et les ingérences en ligne sur les élections sont des menaces pour la tenue d’élections libres et justes et pour la légitimité du processus démocratique. Depuis les élections européennes de 2014, de nombreux scrutins ont connu des tentatives d’ingérences au sein des débats, parmi lesquels peuvent être mentionnés le référendum pour le Brexit, les élections aux Philippines, aux États-Unis, au Brésil ou encore en Italie. Les responsables de ces propagandes numériques…

The conference is co-organised by the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union (LZS) and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. The EFG GS Ricardo Gutiérrez will deliver the opening speech on Sunday.

Italian MEP Isabella De Monte is organising the event “THE CHALLENGES OF EUROPEAN JOURNALISM” which will be held in Brussels at the European Parliament, room ASP 3H1, on Tuesday, November 27th from 15:00 h to 17:00 h. Fake news is one of the biggest challenges facing the media today. The authenticity of information has become an issue affecting the society and our democracy, both for printed and digital media. On social networks, the reach and effects of information spread occur at such a fast pace and so amplified that distorted, inaccurate or false information acquires a tremendous potential to cause real…

Access Now, Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) and European Digital Rights (EDRi) just issued a joint report evaluating the work done by the EU institutions to tackle online disinformation. They found out a lack of evidence-based solution to address the problem and therefore  established a series of recommendations to be followed prior and after the adoption of the forthcoming EU Action Plan on the topic. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) supports these organisations in asking the EU and Member States to refrain from undue interference and censorship while addressing the issue of disinformation. “We urge the European Commission…