Reports and papers

Analyses on specific aspects related to press and media freedom, performed and published by research centres, non-governmental organizations and public bodies

Freedom in the World 2022. The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule

This booklet is a summary of findings for the 2022 edition of Freedom in the World. The complete analysis including narrative reports on all countries and territories can be found at www.freedomhouse.org

read more Media freedom Surveillance Cybersecurity

Hungarian Capital in Foreign Media. Three Strategic Models of Influencing the Neighbourhood

The International Press Institute (IPI) published a new report written by regional media experts and investigative journalists on the investment of Hungarian capital in foreign media and the implications for the spread of Viktor Orbán’s “illiberal” model of media control

read more Hungary Media capture Slovenia North Macedonia Serbia Romania Slovakia

Liberties Rule of Law Report 2022

The Liberties Rule of Law Report 2022 is the third annual report on the state of rule of law in the European Union, presenting country and trend reports on democratic records by civil society organisations across the European Union. Published by the Civil Liberties Union for Europe, it provides information and analysis from the ground of the state of the rule of law in 17 EU countries

read more EU Member States Freedom of expression Safety of journalists Human rights Rule of Law

Mapping Media Freedom Monitoring Report 2021

The 2021 monitoring report for the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) summarises media freedom violations across EU Member States, candidate countries, and the United Kingdom from January until December 2021. The report is divided in 4 main sections which offer quantitative and qualitative analysis of the main attacks perpetrated against media workers during the year

read more Media freedom Safety of journalists Digital safety COVID-19 Surveillance Cybersecurity

Unesco: Journalism and Whistleblowing

Taking inspiration from the context of the 2019 pandemic, the paper examines the relationship between journalism and whistleblowing as an important tool to protect human rights, fight corruption, and strengthen democracy.

read more

Edelman Trust Barometer 2022

A country report about trust in Germany

read more Trust in media Germany

Women in newsrooms: perspectives on equity, diversity and resilience

Looking at the Western Balkans, this report highlights the trends, opportunities and obstacles, identified through the sharing of experiences and perspectives by women working in the media, to paint a more nuanced and complex picture of women’s role in newsrooms, news-making and regional societies more broadly

read more Media and gender Albania North Macedonia Kosovo Serbia Montenegro Bosnia Herzegovina

SLAPPs in Europe: How the EU can protect watchdogs from abusive lawsuits

This report is the joint submission to the European Commission public consultation on EU action against SLAPPs, strategic lawsuits against public participation

read more SLAPP

The authorities vs. the citizens. ‘In the crosshairs’ namely SLAPP Polish-style

Polish independent news service OKO.press, supported by the Rafto Foundation, prepared a report about SLAPPs. The report is based on 21 interviews with activists and lawyers, as well as discussions with activists, including in courts and at police stations, not only with the accused and charged, but also with those who came to demonstrate their support

read more Poland SLAPP

Impact of Social Media Law on Media Freedom in Turkey Monitoring Report

The report covers the period between October 2020 and October 2021, consisting of input from 36 news outlets concerning the subject, object, legitimation of the articles that received content removal because of the implementation of the Law numbered 5651 that has expanded the scope of the "access blocking" mechanism enabling multiple bodies of the state apparatus to issue such orders

read more Turkey Social media Censorship