Increasingly hostile environment for European media
European journalists and media companies face an increasingly hostile environment. There were at least 1 548 press freedom violations during last year impacting 2 567 media-related persons or entities in 35 countries, up from 1 153 violations in 2023, according to the annual report from The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR). Blocking of journalistic activity and intimidation and threatening of media workers were the most prominent types of violations followed by discrediting, harassment, insults, and bullying.
“The trends observed in 2024 indicate a continued deterioration of media freedom in key areas. The sharp rise in verbal attacks and censorship and interference in the EU is alarming, particularly with blocked journalistic activity seeing a significant increase”, the annual report says.
“Meanwhile, in candidate countries, verbal attacks have become the dominant form of press freedom violations, with legal threats disproportionately affecting media workers, highlighting broader concerns about judicial independence and legislative restrictions.”
“The continued rise in online attacks, alongside the increasing role of unknown perpetrators, underscores the evolving threats faced by journalists in the digital age.”
In the 27 EU Member States, there were 942 alerts impacting 1 446 persons or entities related to media.
Journalists and media workers were subjected to an increased number of threatening and intimidation, blocked journalistic activities, editorial interference, as well as spoofing, including deep fakes.
“Physical attacks, attacks to equipment and other property, hacking and DDoS attacks, and legal incidents also remain a concern. Private individuals remain the main perpetrators, with a worrying number of attacks performed by government and public officials.”
The report says online attacks, again, increased further to become the most common type of attacks, followed by those that took place during protests.
In the nine candidate countries, there were 606 alerts impacting 1 121 persons or entities related to media.
“Candidate countries face similar challenges in regard to press freedom as documented in EU Member States, albeit with differences in frequency and severity.”
Threatening and blocked journalistic activity are the two most frequent types of attacks in candidate countries.
“However, compared to EU Member States, candidate countries have an alarmingly high amount of arrest, detention and imprisonment cases ranking as the third most frequent type of attack, with most alerts recorded in Turkey and Georgia.”
“Private individuals are the most frequent perpetrators followed by an alarming number of attacks perpetrated by police and state security, also with most cases recorded in Turkey and Georgia.”
“The number of attacks perpetrated by the judiciary at court are also outstanding, with most cases recorded in Turkey. Though there is a decrease of recorded online attacks in candidate countries, the number of targeted journalists or media companies within these attacks are higher compared to the previous year, mainly due to hacking and DDoS attacks often attacking multiple persons or organisations.”
2024 was a big election year with over 50 national, local, and regional elections – including the European parliamentary elections on 9 June.
“Media freedom was targeted at various levels in relation to election reporting; including attempts at influencing media coverage through editorial pressure or financial means, or threats of legal action. On multiple occasions there was also an increased risk of physical and verbal attacks, specifically at demonstrations or polling stations.”
The report notes that press freedom violations related topics like climate and environmental issues is a new theme.
“Examples included obstructive measures taken by private companies or state authorities to obscure news investigations into environmental developments or natural disasters. Journalists also faced increased risks of verbal and physical attacks at demonstrations related to the climate or environment.”
The report has been compiled by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, the European Federation of Journalists, and the International Press Institute, as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) project The project is co-financed by the European Commission.
Moonshot News is an independent European news website for all IT, Media and Advertising professionals, powered by women and with a focus on driving the narrative for diversity, inclusion and gender equality in the industry.
Our mission is to provide top and unbiased information for all professionals and to make sure that women get their fair share of voice in the news and in the spotlight!
We produce original content, news articles, a curated calendar of industry events and a database of women IT, Media and Advertising associations.
