On 25 September 2024, the judicial authorities in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger announced the opening of investigations against French journalist Wassim Nasr, over alleged accusations of “complicity and apology for terrorism”. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) condemn these baseless accusations and denounce attempts to muzzle the journalist investigating sensitive topics.  Wassim Nasr reports on jihadist/extremists movements and security issues for the Paris-based TV channel France 24. On 25 September, the Burkinabe, Malian, and Nigerien prosecutor’s offices issued a statement on their respective national televisions stating that “the combined analysis of Wassim Nasr’s various interventions in the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners in expressing serious concerns about the editorial independence of Italian public broadcaster RAI. The MFRR further insists that the appointment process of the new leadership must guarantee RAI’s political independence and enforce the highest standards of journalism. On 14 September, Rainews24, the news channel of Italy’s public broadcaster RAI, aired an almost four-minute monologue by Deputy PM Matteo Salvini of the Lega Party. In the video, he defends his actions, as former Minister of Interior, ahead of a court case where he is accused of kidnapping and neglect…

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) together with the SafeJournalists Network stand in full solidarity with Tanjug journalists who have received death threats by email over Kosovo and Albania reporting and urge the authorities to conduct an immediate investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice. On 30 September, media workers of the news agency Tanjug were threatened with death via an email sent to the newsroom office. The author of the death threat email, who signed as “Tim Bahrdi”, declared that any Tanjug journalists who entered the Kosovo-Metohija region would be “shot in the back of the head”…

On 17 September, Georgia’s Parliament adopted a legislative package entitled “Family Values and the Protection of Minors.” Among the amendments contrary to press freedom and freedom of expression, the legislation imposes censorship on media by banning broadcasters from freely reporting on LGBT+ issues. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) strongly condemns Georgia’s draft law, which aims to seriously endanger the non-discrimination rights of the LGBT+ community in Georgia by censoring broadcasters on topics of the utmost importance. The EFJ calls on the Georgian government to immediately reconsider such a repressive and discriminatory bill and instead uphold freedom of the press…

The undersigned international press freedom, journalists and human rights organizations strongly condemn Georgia’s recently adopted Family Values Bill. This legislation imposes censorship on media by banning broadcasters from freely reporting on LGBT+ issues. The Georgian government must stop its legal attacks on press freedom and freedom of expression.  On 17 September, Georgia’s Parliament adopted the Family Values Bill in its third reading, with 84 MPs voting in favour. The Bill is part of a legislative package titled “On Family Values and the Protection of Minors,” which proposes amendments to 18 existing laws, including the Law on Freedom of Speech and…

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium expresses serious concern over the persistent spoofing of legitimate European media outlets, most recently as part of a Russian disinformation campaign called “Doppelgänger”. Over the past two years, this disinformation campaign, initially discovered in 2022, continued to weigh in the political debate with so-called cybersquatting practices, through which Russian sources leased internet domains that cloned legitimate media websites, in order to spread false narratives that were massively shared on social media. On 4 September, a total of 32 manipulative websites with domains leased from American companies were identified by the US Department of…