As new players gain ground alongside professional journalists in the news industry, UNESCO published a global study entitled ‘Behind The Screens: Insights from Digital Content Creators’. The report provides interesting insights on the way digital content creators consider their work, and highlights their vulnerability to mis- and disinformation. Who are these “influencers”? In her report, the Author Dr. Louisa Ha defines digital content creators as “individuals who regularly post content online for public consumption and have more than 1,000 followers.” The people who participated in the survey across the five continents are under 35 and “have between 1,000 to 10,000…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) strongly condemns the internal pressure on journalists at Belsat, the Belarusian-language television channel that operates from Poland, following the channel’s restructuring. The channel is a subsidiary of TVP, the Polish public service broadcaster. The transformation of Belsat into the Belarusian editorial office of the “TVP Center for foreign language programs” must be carried out in such a way as to preserve the full independence of the newsroom and its operational capabilities, which have been largely compromised. After the announcement of drastic budget cuts and restructuring that will severely reduce the production capacity and autonomy of the…

A coalition of international press freedom, freedom of expression, and journalists organizations conducted a solidarity and fact-finding mission to Slovakia, on 25-26 November to assess the state of press freedom in the country amid a scaling back of democratic freedoms. The mission was led by the International Press Institute (IPI) and joined by ARTICLE 19 Europe, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), and the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF). Media freedom in Slovakia faces a growing threat, and urgent action is needed to protect it. The Slovak government – a member of the Media Freedom Coalition – has an…

Ariane Lavrilleux, the French journalist who revealed France’s complicity in state crimes in Egypt in November 2021, is once again facing justice. The journalist, who works for the investigative media Disclose, was summoned on 17 January 2025 for possible indictment for “appropriation and disclosure of a national defence secret”, the investigative media Disclose announced. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemns the judicial harassment of Ariane Lavrilleux and calls for respect for the fundamental democratic principle guaranteeing the protection of journalistic sources. In November 2021, Lavrilleux contributed to an investigation revealing a secret French military operation in Egypt, “Operation Sirli,” aimed at…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its affiliate in Georgia, the Independent Association of Georgian Journalists (IAGJ), strongly condemn the police violence and extreme brutality targeting journalists covering the demonstrations in Tbilisi since 28 November. We urge the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Vakhtang Gomelauri, to stop the violence and to identify and prosecute the perpetrators. Thousands of citizens have taken to the streets in downtown Tbilisi for three consecutive nights after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the suspension of Georgia’s EU integration process until 2028. Georgian police have used water cannon and tear gas to disperse the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) and 16 other press freedom and human rights organisations in calling for the immediate release of the seven journalists detained in Turkey on 26 November 2024. Journalists Roza Metina (Jinnews Kurdish Editor and President of the Mesopotamian Women Journalists Association), Ahmet Sümbül (Freelance Journalist), and Ardin Diren (Filmmaker) were detained in Diyarbakır; Erdoğan Alayumat (Freelance Journalist), Bilge Aksu (Freelance Journalist), Tuğçe Yılmaz (Bianet), and Suzan Demir (Gazete Duvar) in Istanbul; Mehmet Uçar (Freelance Journalist) in Batman; and Bilal Seçkin (Freelance Journalist) in Ankara during early morning…