News

Montenegro: the new government must prioritise and uphold press and media freedom

16/12/2020

As Montenegro’s new coalition government under the leadership of Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapićwas formally approved by the Montenegrin Parliament on 4 December, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) and key partners, urge it to put press and media freedom high on its agenda. The detailed report from their virtual fact-finding mission raises a number of concerns

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Croatia: Smear campaign against journalist Anja Kožul, protection needed

11/12/2020

As part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the International Press Institute (IPI) and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) condemn the smear campaign against Serbian journalist from Croatia Anja Kožul and call for her protection

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Purchase of Polska Press by state energy giant spells disaster for media freedom in Poland

11/12/2020

An analysis by IPI: A long-feared, Hungary-style takeover of independent media in Poland gathered pace this week as a state-controlled energy giant announced the acquisition of a media company with more than 20 regional dailies, 120 weekly magazines and 500 online portals across the country, the International Press Institute (IPI) warned

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MFRR partners raise serious concerns over suspension of funding to Slovenian Press Agency

09/12/2020

A temporary halt of state financing for the Slovenian Press Agency is a threat to freedom of information in the country

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SLAPP: a directive drafted by civil society organizations

07/12/2020

The international anti-SLAPP coalition invested time and funds to draft a model directive that would help tackle the issue of vexatious lawsuits: now this paper will be presented to EU institutions and stakeholders, and could serve as a pattern for the promised EU initiatives against SLAPPs

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A History Of Using SLAPP Suits To Silence Women

01/12/2020

Published more than 2 years ago, this overview of the case-law by Bhawana Bisht examines the abuse of the law as a tool to silence women

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France tramples on press freedom

30/11/2020

MFRR partners join International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ), and their French affiliates, the SNJ, SNJ-CGT, CFDT-Journalists calling on the French Prime Minister, Jean Castex, to withdraw three articles from the “Global Security” law

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Country factsheet: Hungary

30/11/2020

In 2020, a number of threats to media pluralism and transparency have continued to further marginalise and threaten media freedom across Hungary. Due to the expansion of pro-Government outlets and the weaponisation of government advertising, most Hungarian citizens receive news only from pro-government outlets. With this kind of control, there is no need to directly attack critical journalists, as they are excluded from the media market. Moreover, the coronavirus crisis had arguably the biggest effect on media freedom

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Poland: Authorities must end police brutality and persecution of protesters and journalists

27/11/2020

Within the initiatives of the Media Freedom Rapid Response, Article 19 condemns the violence and brutality against protesters and journalists in Poland and calls for the immediate cessation of persecution

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Addressing the challenges posed by disinformation in the Western Balkans - Statement by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)

25/11/2020

Statement by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) on the topic of the issue of disinformation in the region, on the occasion of the online webinar „Addressing the challenges posed by disinformation in the Western Balkans“ held in Sarajevo on 11-12 November 2020

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