The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) have raised their concerns over the repetitive attacks and acts of intimidation against journalists in Italy in the last few weeks. They stand in solidarity with their Italian affiliate, the Federazione Nazionale Della Stampa Italiana (FNSI), and the Italian journalists who are experiencing those threats. On 12th of July investigative journalist Marilù Mastrogiovanni of Apulian newspaper Il Tacco was targeted with death threats flooding her work email. Il Tacco reported that this was not the journalist’s first case of intimidation, and that the level of protection for her and her family had been increased. The local authorities are investigating the…

The Reuters Institute just published the first evidence-based study “Measuring the reach of ‘fake news’ and online disinformation in Europe” focusing on the most popular false news sites in France and Italy. The results show that the so-called “fake news” have a limited reach and that the time spent on false news websites is far lower than the time spent on news websites. It is often assumed that false news have a huge impact on the people who read them. Yet the research reveals that most of the false news websites analysed had a reach of less than 1% of…

The International and European Federations of Journalists strongly condemn the draft amendment to the Italian Penal Code which will increase the criminal penalties for those accused of defamation against members of the political class, the judiciary or public administration. The EFJ and its Italian member, FNSI, call on Italian authorities to decriminalize defamation. The EFJ and IFJ have submitted today an alert on the issue on the Council of Europe of the Platform for the Protection of Journalism. A committee of the Italian Senate voted unanimously on 3 May 2016, a draft amendment to the Penal Code which will increase the criminal…

FEDERAZIONE NAZIONALE DELLA STAMPA ITALIANA (FNSI) Address 349 Corso Vittorio Emanuele 000186 Roma Italy Staff Vittorio di Trapani (President) Alessandra Costante (General Secretary) Phone +39 06 680081 Email esteri.fnsi@fnsi.it Contact Person Anna del Freo (member of the EFJ Steering Committee) – anna.delfreo@ilsole24ore.com Website Twitter www.fnsi.it @FnsiSocial

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), 38 European journalists’ unions and more than 20 press freedom NGOs today sent a letter to the European Union’s top diplomats calling for the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and for sanctions against those responsible for Israel’s war crimes and repeated violations of international law. The letter was drafted on the initiative of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). It is co-signed among others by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Human Rights Watch (HRW), IFEX, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)… Here is our joint…

Update (20/08/2024): The EFJ condemns the death threats against the two journalists by pro-Russian circles in Italy, in particular the writer Nicolai Lilin. ——————————- The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Italian affiliate FNSI in strongly condemning Russian threats to prosecute Italian journalists covering the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Kursk region, in Russia. The EFJ considers that these intimidations amount to censorship and are aimed at preventing public opinion from being informed about ongoing operations. Russian media reported on Friday that the Russian interior ministry intends to press criminal charges against Italian journalists who reported from the region of…

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) coalition welcomes the publication of the 2024 European Commission’s rule of law report. Despite progress made in some areas, the report shows that press freedom remains under threat in Europe. We urge Member States and the European Union to intensify their efforts to uphold media freedom and reinforce their roles in safeguarding this pillar of democracy. The release of the fifth annual rule of law report, the last one during the Commission’s current term, provides a critical opportunity to evaluate press freedom and democratic governance across EU Member States.  We warmly welcome the fact…

On 24 July 2024, the European Commission published its annual Rule of Law Report, which includes the assessment of press freedom and media pluralism in Europe. This fifth edition is released at a critical time for some EU Member States that face serious threats to media pluralism and press freedom, such as Italy, Slovakia or Greece. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes the recommendations issued by the report and immediately calls on the European Commission to consider sanctions as part of the gradual implementation of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). The report includes specific recommendations for each EU…

EFJ Freelance Expert Group (FREG) co-chairs, Renske Heddema (Dutch union of journalists – NVJ) and Oddrun Mitbø (Norwegian union of journalists – NJ) contributed to the open letter below, outlining the priorities of FREG. Freedom of the press is essential for all democracies. This freedom is now increasingly under pressure in Europe. Several developments underline the threats for journalists, especially freelance workers, who often stand out for their personal courage. EFJ Freelance Expert Group (FREG) members regularly participate in demonstrations calling for the release of imprisoned colleagues.  The recent release of Julian Assange shows that the relentless fight from people…

More than 60 media, journalists and civil society organizations, including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ),  have signed an open letter urging Israel to give journalists independent access to Gaza. The organizations – which include the EFJ, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, BBC, CNN, The Guardian, The New York Times, and The Washington Post – point out that no independent media access to Gaza has been permitted since the start of the war, increasing the pressure on domestic journalists, and creating a space for mis- and disinformation to flourish. “More than 100 journalists have been killed since the start of the war and…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its four affiliates in France (SNJ, SNJ-CGT, CFDT-Journalistes, FASAP-FO) call on the French authorities to take the necessary measures in view of the worrying increase in threats and violence against journalists in France. It is the responsibility of the public authorities to guarantee press freedom and an environment that allows journalists to carry out their work in safety. The number of press freedom violations in France recorded by the EFJ on the EU-funded MFRR platform almost quadrupled in the month of June compared to the number reported since the beginning of the year.…

Another alarming report on the deterioration of media pluralism in Europe. The latest edition of the “Media Pluralism Monitor” (MPM2024) is out. Of the 32 European countries analysed, barely seven (Germany, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland and Lithuania) have a satisfactory situation. Everywhere else, European citizens are not fully guaranteed access to diversified and independent sources of information. Overall trends show increasing commercial and political interference in the media. The report also demonstrates the passivity of European governments and media companies in the face of this democratic threat. The latest MPM report was released today by the Centre for…

In response to the EU sanctions against Russian media that were approved in June 2024, Russia’s Foreign Ministry has announced that it is banning 81 media outlets from European Union countries from broadcasting in Russia. The International and the European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) strongly condemn these restrictions, which prevent Russian citizens from freely accessing information from EU media outlets, thereby breaching the public’s right to know. On 25 June, Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced its decision to block access to prominent EU media outlets across Russia and released a list of 81 publications, including  leading EU and pan-European media from…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the undersigned organizations in welcoming the recent study on the actions taken by Member States to implement the European Commission’s Recommendation on the protection and safety of journalists. However, our coalition finds that the report lacks a critical assessment of on-the-ground realities that reduce the effectiveness of initiatives that otherwise look good on paper. We stress therefore the need for more effective measures, and a deeper engagement with journalists and media freedom organizations, to build structures that can genuinely safeguard journalist safety in Europe. The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) coalition reviewed the recently published…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) held its Annual Meeting in Prishtina, Kosovo, on 23-24 May 2024. The event, which brought together around 100 journalists’ trade unions and professional associations from 45 European countries, was organised by the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AGK). The theme of the annual meeting “Journalism in times of war” allowed major discussions on current challenges such as the safety and working conditions of journalists. #EFJPrishtina24: Throwback to the annual meeting in Prishtina. “Stand up for journalism as a public good” 🤝🏼 pic.twitter.com/PPErweXyRK — EFJ (@EFJEUROPE) May 28, 2024   “It is a historic milestone…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) radically disputes the conclusions of a study commissioned by the European Commission to assess the implementation of the EU Recommendation on the protection, safety and empowerment of journalists. The report points to supposed progress that in fact remains marginal, if not ineffective. On 3 May, the European Commission published the study carried out by Intellera Consulting, Open Evidence and PwC assessing the efforts made by EU Member States since the publication in 2021 of the highly relevant EU Recommendation on the Safety of Journalists. According to the EU press release, “EU countries show progress…