Twenty women have accused French journalist Patrick Poivre d’Arvor, also known as PPDA, of sexual harassment and abuse, including rape. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on media companies to take the necessary preventive measures, especially with regard to freelancers, who are more exposed to the risk of sexual abuse. On Tuesday, the investigative website Mediapart interviewed 18 women openly accusing one of France’s best-known television news presenters, PPDA, 74, of sexual harassment and abuse – including rape. A further two alleged victims were named and filmed talking of their encounters with the television star separately. The majority of…

The London Court decided on 11 May 2022 to dismiss most of the charges in a defamation case against the business news website Realtid, initiated by Swedish businessman Svante Kumlin. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomed the court’s decision recognising that the defamation claim could not be tried in the British courts. The disputed articles were published in October and November 2020. In these articles, Realtid investigated the financing and financial dealings surrounding Kumlin’s company, Eco Energy World. During the investigation, the firm’s lawyers threatened to sue the journalists for defamation so that they would not continue their work.…

The press councils from Belgium, Finland and Germany released a joint podcast exploring two important cases that show what reporting standards like truthfulness and the protection of victims mean for everyday life reporting. The two episodes are available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Truthfulness, human dignity and corrections of mistakes: these are the main standards followed by most professional media in Europe. But what do these standards mean for everyday reporting? For example, how do journalists cover accidents and human tragedies without hurting the victims’ dignity? And how do they differentiate themselves from disinformation via social media?  The first episode entitled ‘A traffic…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined EDRi and 46 civil society organisations in jointly raising voices to the European Commission to demand that the forthcoming EU on ‘Legislation to effectively tackle child sexual abuse’ complies with EU fundamental rights and freedoms. Tackling the online dissemination of child sexual abuse and exploitation material (CSAM) is an important part of the broader global fight to protect young people from sexual abuse and exploitation. In particular, this fight requires a comprehensive approach by governments and companies to prevent such egregious crimes before they happen. In the context of the upcoming EU legislation to…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today in expressing serious concern over the decision by the Fidesz-controlled Media Council – the country’s powerful media regulator – to block the frequency license renewal of the symbolic independent station Tilos Rádió. Our organisations are concerned that this decision appears to be yet another disproportionate move by the Media Council, whose members were all nominated and appointed solely by the ruling party, which will force another independent voice off the country’s airwaves and further weaken media pluralism. We note the Media Council’s…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today joined its partner organisations in the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in publishing a mission report focusing on key challenges facing press freedom in Italy. The report followed a three-day fact-finding mission to Rome, Naples and Arzano from 4 to 6 April 2022, which was led by the Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa. The delegation’s findings were published today and launched at an event organised by the MFRR featuring a representative of the European Commission, as well as our Italian affiliate, the Italian Federation of Journalists (FNSI), Articolo 21 and the Italian Order of Journalists.…