World Press Freedom Day: Six years of monitoring reveals emerging threats against media freedom in Europe

The MFRR consortium first began comprehensive monitoring in 2020 and has become the largest public database of media freedom violations in Europe. Our Mapping Media Freedom (MapMF) platform has now recorded 6092 media freedom violations in Europe affecting more than 10,200 different journalists and media-related entities in EU Member States and nine EU candidate countries.

This monitoring offers a detailed picture of the different threats to journalists and media, where these attacks are occurring, and what new trends have emerged over the past few years that the EU and national governments need to respond to.

Monitoring by MFRR partners includes cases of physical and verbal attacks, attacks against journalistic property and equipment, legal threats and lawsuits, and different forms of interference with journalistic work. This data has informed and shaped the MFRR’s advocacy, reports and missions, and led to MFRR legal and practical support .

During this six year period, media freedom in Europe has faced serious and sustained challenges from the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s full scale war in Ukraine, the continued rise of the far-right, the erosion of democratic norms worldwide and technological disruption from the emerging AI revolution.

In the past six years, 27 journalists , media workers, media owners or staff guarding media offices have been killed in line of duty or because of their work in European countries monitored by the MFRR. The majority of these deaths (59%) have occurred in Ukraine , with the Russian military as the major perpetrator. Impunity for crimes against journalists remains a central concern for press freedom in Europe.

Almost a fifth of all incidents (1180 cases) recorded by the MFRR were physical attacks (19%). This included 430 serious physical attacks on journalists which resulted in injuries or required medical attention. Most physical attacks were perpetrated by private individuals (59%), while police accounted for 23%. MapMF also documented more than 2000 verbal attacks , including death threats , intimidation, sexual harassment and smear campaigns.

One alarming trend revealed by the data is that the share of media freedom violations per year in which political actors were responsible has increased from 14% in 2020 to 20% in 2025. More than half of these cases (54%) were verbal in nature, indicating a growing use of hostile rhetoric against the press.

An increasing share of media freedom threats in the past six years have come in the digital sphere . One key trend documented during this period has been the emergence of spyware surveillance of journalists, where MapMF has documented 22 alerts affecting 48 journalists and other media actors.

Analysis also shows that women journalists are increasingly affected by digital attacks, with artificial intelligence posing an emerging threat to journalists online. The frequency of such alerts has increased significantly in the past two years. Spoofing including fake websites and AI generated deep fakes was an emerging and increasing trend journalists and media faced, with a total of 109 cases. 

Moreover, 1062 violations, affecting 1820 journalists and other media professionals during protests and demonstrations across EU member states and candidate countries show that demonstrations and protests have been the second most dangerous context for journalists in the past period. This underscores the importance of protection mechanisms for journalists and media workers covering these events.

Six years of data also points to sustained challenges in the legal climate for media freedom , where the platform recorded 414 cases of journalists or media workers being arrested, detained or imprisoned. MapMF also recorded 145 criminal charges against the media and nearly 200 civil lawsuits . The project also documented 142 problematic legislative initiatives , including drafts proposals and laws, targeting press freedom in 30 different European countries.

During this period, the MFRR has also tracked the emergence of foreign agent laws in Europe, as well the spread of toxic narratives around foreign funding, especially since 2024. In total, MapMF documented 181 alerts related to foreign agent laws or narratives, affecting 313 journalists or media entities.

As we mark World Press Freedom Day 2026, the MFRR encourages journalists, media researches, policymakers and international organisations to utilise the data. MFRR partners hope this data offers strong, data-based insights into the levels of pressures journalists and media professionals are facing across Europe today to inform policy and decision-making. 

MapMF is part of the MFRR and is coordinated by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Press Institute (IPI). Click here to explore the data in full. 

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) is a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries. It is co-funded by the European Commission.

This content is part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response  (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries. The project is co-funded by the European Commission.