Freedom of Press

Italy's media is in crisis, battling legal onslaughts and facing a surge of censorship one year after the establishment of the far-right government led by Giorgia Meloni.

Under the umbrella of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), thirteen journalists, press freedom, and civil society organizations are calling the EU institutes and the governments of member states to impose greater transparency on the media and their relations with political decision-makers and economic players.

In May, activists, feminists, researchers, and human rights defenders from some 35 countries from all continents will gather at the Global Assembly in Frankfurt am Main to discuss their ideas and strategies for a world with more justice and human dignity.

A recent opinion poll by 21 Research Centre investigated how Hungarian people perceive different media outlets in the country and how they access political information.

Countries such as Poland or Hungary frequently face criticism for a lack of media freedom. Their governments dispute that they oppose critical media. Yet, restrictions on media freedom come in many shapes and sizes.

The once lively scene of local and national Ukrainian media is threatened by the brutal Russian invasion and occupation. War has changed the work of journalists and media business models are under threat.

The use of spyware against journalists in the EU is alarming. Saskia Bricmont explains how severe the threat is, who the perpetrators are and their intentions.

Tasos Telloglou reports on the surveillance of journalists and politicians, the violation of telecommunications secrecy and his research into spyware.

Gendered disinformation online silences women in the public sphere. The disinformation and democratization expert Nina Jankowicz explains how.   

The media systems of Europe are facing challenges from multiple directions. Elda Brogi explains the European approach to tackle them.

On the evening of 24 July, a crowd of 10 000 -15 000 people gathered in front of the office of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to show their solidarity for the journalists who had resigned that very same morning from the largest remaining independent Hungarian news portal. In Hungary, demonstrations tend to draw no more than five thousand people, so the protest's size was surprising, especially since there is nothing new or shocking in democratic institutions being under heavy fire in Hungary.