Seminar: How to Tackle Fake News and Information War in the EU?

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…

Finland: new fund supports journalists facing harassment and threats

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has welcomed the creation of a new fund for journalists who became victims of persecution or threats. It is a joint project of the Union of Journalists in Finland (UJF), five top Finnish media companies and several other representative organisations working in the media sector. The fund will be launched after midsummer and it is open to staff journalists as well as freelancers. It aims to help journalists facing legal threats such as cases of defamation as well as harassments. The foundation follows a spate of such cases in Finland in recent years, only…

Finland: disproportionate defamation case against journalist

 Johanna Vehkoo, a Finnish journalist, has been found guilty of defaming local city counselor Junes Lokka by referring to him as a racist and ‘nazi clown’ in a 2016 Facebook post. The politician is known as an anti-immigration activist with a history of making far-right extreme pronouncements, for which he was fined. Vehkoo  has written extensively about ‘fake’ news, hate speech and the problems they pose for journalism. The court found that Vehkoo’s comments on her Facebook page constituted a personal attack on Lokka and that she did not focus her criticism on his politics.  She was ordered to pay…

Finnish trade union coalition demands more bargaining power for self-employed workers

On 20th November,  a trade union coalition called Itset, representing self-employed workers, has published a list of goals to improve the situation of self-employed workers ahead of the Finish parliamentary elections in April 2019. Many unions, NGOs and other interest groups are now drafting and publishing their manifestos. Itset, who represents all three Finish trade union confederations including the Union of Journalists in Finland (UJF) , recognizes lack of fair compensation and contracts for freelancers, as well as the fact that the current legal definition of employment is too narrow. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliate, the UJF, in…

Finland takes harsh action against Internet trolls

On 18 October 2018, the Helsinki District Court issued a symbolic verdict against online disinformation and hate speech. The Court’s decision makes Finland the first European country to directly fight Internet trolls, taking action against those who harass journalists through the net. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Finnish affiliate, the Union of Journalists in Finland (UJF), in welcoming the verdict as an example to be followed by other European countries to fight online defamation of journalists. The case sees as protagonist Jessikka Aro, a Finnish journalist investigating how pro-Russia disinformation is spread in Finland through social media and websites believed to be linked…

Finnish public broadcaster fights online hate speech with dialogue and respect

One of six Finnish journalists have received some form of threats connected to their professional work, revealed a survey, conducted by the Union of Journalists of Finland (UJF) in 2016. Among them, topics focusing on issues related to immigration, asylum seeking and Russian interference prompt the most negative response and the highest number of attacks against journalists online. The Finnish newsrooms developed a number of measures and protocols to address the rising issue of online harassment, which proved to be successful. One of the advanced steps has been implemented by the public broadcaster Yle by introducing community management, which is…

Harassment of journalists and how to tackle it – Sharing best practices

Harassment of journalists and how to tackle it – Sharing best practices Time: 7.5.2018 at 14:00–17:00 Venue: Permanent Representation of Finland to the EU Avenue de Cortenbergh 80 B-1000 BRUXELLES BELGIUM In a networked and polarized world, journalists are more and more often at the receiving end of harassment. To share ideas, experiences and best practices in tackling the phenomenon, the Association of Finnish Foreign Affairs Journalists organises an international seminar in Brussels in May 2018. Its goal is to have interesting, informal conversations on the topic between people of different backgrounds so that all participants leave with better tools…

Google to finance development of Union project in Finland

This news was originally published on heikkijokinen.info. Cooperative Mediakunta received 50,000 euro from the Google fund to develop its business model for the billing work for freelance journalists and media professionals. The Union of Journalists in Finland set up the cooperative Mediakunta in January 2017 to help its members who are working on a gig-basis. The cooperative takes care of billing, pays taxes and other statutory contributions. The idea was to allow Union members to fully focus on what they do best, journalism and media work. So far some 150 Union members have joined the cooperative. Among them are both…

Two journalists and a local politician killed in Finland shooting

Two journalists and a local politician were shot dead with a rifle outside a restaurant in the small Finnish town of Imatra at around midnight on Saturday night. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today called on the authorities in Finland to conduct a swift investigation of the killings. The chairwoman of Imatra Town Council and two local reporters were gunned down in a pedestrian area outside a restaurant in the town just before a police patrol car arrived to the scene around midnight Saturday. A 23-year-old local man with a criminal record was detained at the scene, but the motive for the…