The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners will conduct an international mission to assess the current state of press freedom and the safety of journalists in Croatia. The mission will take place online between 9 and 20 September 2024. The mission follows the assessment of the persistence of attacks against journalists and fact-checkers in Croatia, as well as the growing challenges related to transparency of media ownership and legal threats against journalists. Since January this year, the MFRR recorded 11 alerts involving 2 journalists and nine entities related to the media. The majority of attacks are verbal abuse, with half instigated by…

Media freedom in Italy has been steadily declining in recent years, marked by unprecedented attacks and violations often initiated by public officials in an attempt to silence critical voices. Political interference in public media and the systematic use of legal intimidation against journalists by political actors have long defined the media-politics relationship in Italy. However, these dynamics have reached alarming levels over the past two years. In the lead-up to the 2024 EU elections, amidst a rapidly deteriorating context, the partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) conducted an urgent mission to Rome, Italy, on May 16-17, 2024.…

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) strongly condemns a legislative proposal in Cyprus that threatens press freedom under the guise of combating disinformation. This amendment, which criminalizes “fake news” and imposes harsh penalties, risks stifling independent journalism and encouraging self-censorship. Our international consortium calls on authorities to align with international human rights standards, promote media ethics, and protect freedom of expression, instead of exerting media control. The MFRR coalition is gravely concerned about the recent legislative proposal in Cyprus, aiming to criminalize the dissemination of fake news with draconian penalties including prison sentences of up to one year and/or a…

This text was originally published on the presscouncils.eu website, part of the European “Media Councils in the Digital Age” project. With the rapid transformation of Generative AI, newsrooms face new challenges and benchmarks when it comes to adhering to deontological standards. While there is no single ethical standard on the implementation of AI in journalism, various media councils have established guidelines, or even added chapters on it in their ethical codes. The use of AI needs to be regulated accordingly, so as to empower journalists to be quicker, more efficient and more innovative, rather than substituting for their absence. That’s…

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…