Together with 38 experts, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) participated in a EU High-level Expert Group (HLEG) set up by the European Commission, since January 2018, in order to tackle the phenomenon of so-called “fake news” and disinformation. The final report of this group has been published today in Brussels by the EU Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel. The EFJ welcomes the final report despite some doubts on some specific proposals. The report clearly indicates that the real threat is disinformation, not “fake news”. Disinformation is defined as “false, inaccurate, or misleading information designed, presented and promoted to intentionally…

On Friday 9 March, A Turkish court has released on bail two journalists who were held for over a year on terror-related charges. The editor-in-chief of the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper, Murat Sabuncu, and the investigative reporter, Ahmet Şık, were both released on bail but they remain charged while the chairman of the newspaper, Akin Atalay, was kept in detention. The staff from the newspaper were held as part of the crackdown that followed the failed coup of July 2016.  Based on articles published by the newspaper, Turkish authorities accuse Cumhuriyet of supporting the Gülen movement who Ankara believes headed the coup attempt, as well…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemns the verbal attacks on journalists delivered by Czech President Milos Zeman during his inauguration speech on 8 March 2018 in Prague. Mr. Zeman accused the Czech public broadcaster of granting too much coverage to the TOP 09 conservative political party. He further went on to allege a general manipulation by liberal news outlets. Karolina Blinkova, a spokeswoman of Czech Television (CT) dismissed his accusations of biased news coverage in favour of the TOP 09 political party as attacks on the independence of the media: “We absolutely reject any attacks on journalists and independence of…

Journalists’ basic protection in Malta has deteriorated. That is one of the main outcomes of the “Media Pluralism Monitor” for Malta, presented by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) of the European University Institute, in the University of Malta, on 9 March. The Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) is a holistic tool applied to assess the state of play of media pluralism and media freedom in the European Union member states and candidate countries. The findings were presented by professor Pier Luigi Parcu, director of CPMF, and Iva Nenadic, reserach associate at CPMF, who drawn up the report following a…

An Istanbul court on Thursday sentenced 25 journalists to prison terms of up to seven and a half years over links to the Gülen movement blamed by Turkey for the 2016 failed coup in a mass trial of media staff detained after the putsch bid. Twenty-three of the journalists were convicted of membership of an armed terror group while two more on lesser charges, the Dogan news agency reported. Almost all of those jailed worked for media close to the group of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara says organised the coup bid but he denies these allegations. Many of…

The Council of Europe has issued guidelines to its 47 member states in order to promote media pluralism, transparency of media ownership and media literacy. In a Recommendation adopted today, the Committee of Ministers endorses a comprehensive framework of guidelines for creating a pluralist, transparent and participatory media environment, both offline and online. States are encouraged to develop strategies for increasing the sustainability of a variety of media ranging from public service media, local, minority, community and cross-border media. States are also encouraged to support quality independent and investigative journalism, whilst fully respecting the editorial and operational autonomy of the…